CHENNAI: Commuters travelling on bus no. 102 along the Broadway Kelambakkam route can travel comfortably as the Metropolitan Transport Corporation (MTC) has introduced a new bus, which is built as per the specifications prescribed in Automotive Industry Standard (AIS) 052 code. The new bus was flagged off by Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami on Wednesday.
It is the first MTC bus to be operated in Chennai after the union government amended the Central Motor Vehicle Order (Accreditation of Bus Body Builders) making it mandatory for all state-owned and private bus body building units to obtain AIS 052 code, introduced by Automotive Research Association Of India, in 2012. The code that came into effect in August 2015. has specifications on additional safety features for commuters.
The number of seats has been reduced from 51 to 46 on the new bus to provide better comfort to passengers. “Two seats in front of the last row near rear stairs were removed to increase the width of the doors.
The number of seats in the last row has also been reduced from six to five to provide ample space for commuters to sit. In addition, the seats adjacent to the driver has also been reduced from five to three. Public announcement system has also been introduced,” said official sources.
The new buses have two emergency doors — opposite the front and rear stairs of the bus. “The width of the automatic doors has been increased to facilitate commuters to board and alight the bus simultaneously,” said a senior MTC official. The new bus has been receiving an overwhelming response from the commuters.
According to official records, MTC caters to about 36 lakh commuters a day with a fleet strength of 3,200. While the private companies introduced the buses built as per new standards in 2017, the first batch of government buses built as per the standard code hit the roads in July this year and operated in mofussil route.