CHENNAI: After 67 days, public transportation resumed in Chennai and other parts to witness limited patronage. The call taxis and autos affiliated with aggregators Ola and Uber received hardly 10 per cent of their usual patronage. The same is the case with government buses and four special trains, which were operated outside Chennai.
The Villupuram-Madurai and Katpadi-Coimbatore special trains ran with 50 per cent of occupancy. Over 90 per cent of seats in the trains remain unsold for the next one week. According to Chennai Mahanagara Motor Vehicle Workers Association, affiliated to CITU, hardly 10 per cent of call taxis operated in Chennai.
The Association General Secretary P Anbazhagan said, of the total 45,000 call taxis, fewer than 5,000 vehicles run on roads. “Commuters who wanted to travel beyond 10-15 km choose cabs, while others opt to travel by two-wheelers.”
The cab rates remain static throughout the day owing to lack of demand for cabs to Airport, Chennai Central, Egmore, Tambaram, Perambur, Koyambedu and Madhavaram bus terminus.“The cabs are always demanded for last-mile connectivity. Unless train and bus services resume, there will be no demand for cabs,” added Anbazhagan.
A few drivers said they earned about 20 to 25 per cent of their regular earnings and urged OLA to reduce their commission to 10 per cent.
J Ramanujam, President of Thozhargal Car Ottunargal Amaippu Sara Thozhirsangam, said, “Thousands of drivers opted for other jobs as they were unable to pay their dues for cars during the pandemic. The Ola should reduce the commission to 10 per cent from the existing 25-30 per cent.”
Meanwhile, Transport Minister M R Vijayabhaskar on Monday said it had been planned to introduce 5,659 buses in six zones depending on the patronage. The minister said facility to pay ticket fare through Paytm application was introduced in two special buses operated in two routes in Chennai.