Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Step up services to suburbs, CPM tells MTC

CHENNAI: Metropolitan Transport Corporation (MTC) must increase the frequency of its buses to the city suburbs, Communist Party of India (Marxist) leaders said in a memorandum to the Corporation’s managing director.

In the memorandum, CPI (M) district secretaries T. K. Shanmugam and T. Nandagopal said the party had received complaints from residents in the city suburbs that the frequency of MTC buses was inadequate.

They said that as on June 30, though the MTC fleet numbered over 2,815 buses, it was able to ply on an average only 2,660 buses. This was because of vacancies to the posts of drivers and conductors.

The party appealed to the MTC to step up its services and fill vacancies as soon as possible.

The CPI(M) also criticised the MTC for having stepped its premium bus services and said that the move was an attempt to effect an indirect tariff hike.

Meanwhile, Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam (DMDK) founder Vijayakant also issued a statement condemning the “indirect fare hike” by the MTC.

He pointed out that most of the new buses that the MTC had procured had either been listed as deluxe or express services, forcing the commuters to pay more.

© Copyright 2000 - 2009 The Hindu