Why are Chennai women not happy regarding free travel in the MTC buses?
Posted on: 17/May/2022 9:06:02 AM
One year has gone since the government of Tamil Nadu started permitting women to travel free in MTC buses in Chennai. There are many women who are unhappy regarding this now!!
Though this move of permitting women to travel free in MTC buses in Chennai was done to encourage them to be independent wage earners, but this move by the government has only made the lives of women challenging. This free travel is only allowed in the white board buses but there are not many white board buses especially in the areas belonging to north Chennai.
The women wait for longer periods of time to board these white board MTC buses. Many women prefer to reach their destinations by means of autos or share autos etc. The shocking information is that women who travel in the MTV buses get insulted and disrespected by the male passengers.
It was later mentioned by a regular MTC bus commuter belonging to Wimco Nagar in Thiruvottiyur that the white board buses were supposed to be available for every 15 to 20 minutes but for the last one year these white board buses arrive only after 45 minutes to 1 hour in the peak hours. There are times when 3 to 4 white board MTC buses arrive together and no buses for the next 1 hour. This has clearly shown the lethargic nature of MTC authorities and their inefficiency to operate the MTC white board buses at the correct time.
There has been a drastic reduction in the white board buses in the routes such as Ennore- Vallalar Nagar 56A, Tiruvottiyur- Broadway 56C, Thiruvottiyur- Ennore railway station 28, 28B, Tiruvottriyur-CMBT Thiruverkadu 159 etc. Point is that other express as well as super deluxe buses operate as per the schedule.
According to a regular commuter belonging to Old Washermanpet it was very clear that recently a MTC white board bus arrived after 45 minutes and it stopped far away from the bus stand. She threw light on how many passengers ran a long distance to catch the MTC bus to avoid waiting for the next bus that would arrive after 45 minutes to one hour.
