Residents on Chennai outskirts are handicapped by the lack of bus services for the last leg of their commute. They are forced to hire autorickshaws by paying a high fare. Soon, they can take mini-buses as the Chennai district administration has invited mini-bus operators to cover the last mile of the city road network.
On the other hand, the Metropolitan Transport Corporation (MTC) has planned to operate premium buses through private operators for the benefit of office-goers.
On February 28, Chennai Collector Rashmi Siddharth Zagade invited applications from mini-bus operators to ply on 72 routes identified by the Commissionerate of Transport and Road Safety.
The notification came after the Home Department issued a Government Order (New Comprehensive Scheme 2024 and Fare Revision of Mini Bus Under the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988) giving sanction for operating mini-buses throughout Tamil Nadu. The government has proposed to operate a minimum of 18,750 mini-buses and the maximum of 25,000.
In Chennai, mini-buses will be operated in the extended areas of Tiruvottiyur, Manali, Madhavaram, Ambattur, Valasaravakkam, Alandur, Perungudi, and Sholinganallur. The extended areas spread over 240 square kilometres.
Improving access
A senior official of the Commissionerate of Transport and Road Safety says the roll-out of the mini-bus services has been set for May 1. The aim is to improve the access to bus services in urban and rural areas and ensure last-mile connectivity.
The senior official says that under the present arrangement, the Collectors have been empowered to issue the notification of the services as they are the regional transport authorities. “The Joint Transport Commissioners of North and South would be involved in the issue of permits for operating the mini buses in the city and the neighbouring districts.”
The official says permits for operating mini-bus services would be formulated by the Regional Transport Authorities under clause (CA) of sub-section (3) of Section 68 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 (the Central Act 59 of 1988) and the power was delegated to the Regional Transport Authorities by the State Transport Authority under sub-section (5) of Section 68 of the Act.
The State government has also fixed the minimum fares. According to the rate card fixed for each stage (which is up to 2 kilometres), the minimum fare has been fixed at ₹4 and the maximum ₹10. A total of 10 stages, covering 20 kilometres, has been identified by the Commissionerate of Transport and Road Safety. The mini-buses should have a minimum capacity of 7 persons and the maximum of 25.
Excluded areas
According to the notification issued by the Chennai Collector, the mini-bus operation has been excluded from the core parts comprising Tondiarpet, Royapuram, Thiru Vi Ka Nagar, Anna Nagar, Teynampet, Kodambakkam and Adyar, covering a total of 172 square kilometres. In the remaining 240 square kilometre of the extended areas, the services will be operated on 72 routes in the first phase.
In the northern parts of the city, these services will be operated on 33 routes: Ambattur (9 routes), Red Hills (2), Poonamallee (9), Tiruvottiyur (6), Madhavaram (7), linking the Metro Rail stations with the interior areas of Wimco Nagar, Ponneri, the Madhavaram bus terminus, Puthagaram, Retteri, Nolambur, Maduravoyal, Kumananchavadi, Vanagaram, Valasaravakkam, TI Cycles at Ambattur, Avadi, and Porur.
In the southern parts, the State Transport Authority has identified 39 routes at Sholinganallur, Perungudi, Alandur, Thiruvanmiyur, Thoraipakkam, Madipakkam, and Nanganallur. A few of the routes in South chennai are Karapakkam to Infosys on Rajiv Gandhi Salai, Sunnambu Kolathur to Pallikaranai, Kandanachavadi to the Secretariat Colony in Perungudi, the Thiruvanmiyur MRTS Station to Neelanakarai through the East Coast Road, the MGR Salai junction to the WTO junction on Rajiv Gandhi Salai, and Porur to Alwarthirunagar.
MTC service unviable
The senior official of the Commissionerate of Transport points out that the Metropolitan Transport Corporation is the first to operate mini-buses in the city with a fleet of 200 buses. But these services have not been viable. In the first phase, permits will be given to those having mini-buses or mini-vans, and the services will be expanded later, he says.
The city has come a long way from a few suburban train routes and a small fleet of the MTC to Metro Rail, the Mass Rapid Transit System, and the expanded train services to Chengalpattu from Tambaram. But the last-mile connectivity remains the issue for thousands of commuters in the extended areas.
Pleas pending
Transport activist V. Rama Rao says the request for operating mini-buses at Nanganallur and Palavanthangal has been pending for years. Hundreds of office-goers spend a lot for commuting to the Palavanthangal railway station by autorickshaw. Mini-buses have also been requested for Kolathur, Avadi, Virugambakkam, Nolambur, and Manapakkam.
Published – March 04, 2025 10:32 pm IST