CHENNAI: Only about 10 per cent of the buses plied in Chennai on Monday as the Bharat Bandh called by trade unions evoked good response from workers. Commuters dependent on MTC buses, however, were left in the lurch. Transport officials said only about 30 per cent of inter-district buses were operated on Monday.
On Tuesday, bus services may improve as union leaders have announced that around 60 per cent of the buses will be operated on the second day of the bandh. According to the Metropolitan Transport Corporation (MTC) officials, only 318 of the 3,175 MTC buses operated on Monday. They also said only 5,023 buses out of 15,335 bus services were operated across the State.
DMK, AIADMK unions take part
MTC bus drivers and conductors of Anna Thozhilalar Peravai, affiliated to the AIADMK, and Labour Progressive Federation, affiliated to the DMK, participated in the strike in Chennai. In some of the bus depots like Guindy, Mandaveli and Foreshore estate, no buses plied on the day.
Hitchhiking
Many passengers across the city, who needed to travel far for work, resorted to hitchhiking due to a lack of buses. Along the OMR stretch, people stranded in front of the Adyar and Thiruvanmiyur bus depots stood near signals asking motorists if they could drop them off a little farther. "I never thought I would need my two-wheeler here. Now I'm left with seeking help from motorists to reach my office" said Kumaran S, a software engineer in a private firm in Porur and a native of Madurai who was stranded on the road in Guindy. Many college students had to ride triple on two-wheelers since there were no buses.
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Long day for autorickshaws
Autorickshaws hauled a large number of passengers on Monday, plying without rest through the day. "I have been driving back and forth along the OMR stretch since Monday morning. The rush and hustle subdued after 11am. Instead of one passenger to a single location, I picked up three or four along the road" said J Manikandan, an auto driver who was driving from the Adyar bus depot.
The roads were crowded with share autos that were charging `10 to `20 more than usual fare, eliciting warning from police. "During the morning rush hour, when people didn't have buses to commute, the rush was such that we had to stop people from boarding the vehicle. Normalcy returned after 10am," said Richard Kumar K, a share-auto driver plying from Guindy to Perungudi.
Private buses rake in the moolah
The strike was a jackpot for some private buses and tempo travellers. Tourist buses stuck A4 sheets mentioning MTC bus route number and carried passengers from the bus-stands. "My next driving schedule is by 8pm and so, now I am driving between Koyambedu and Alandur, taking passengers,'' said the driver of a minivan.
Fare in cab-aggregators soared along with the demand. "I already had a stressful day with lack of buses and now the fare of cab services is too high. Three of us who work in the same office booked a cab and for the past 45 minutes the app has been searching for drivers," said G Hanumandan, an employee at an
accounting firm.
Peak hour rush in metros and trains
People who were stranded without buses opted for suburban and MRTS services across the city. From 7am to 9am, there was a huge crowd in metro stations and railways stations as office goers boarded the already crowded compartments. "Metro stations were overcrowded with passengers standing in the long queue to get tickets," said J Kandhari, a private company employee.
Passengers who reached the city via overnight trains and buses from other districts found themselves stranded when they arrived at Central and Egmore railway stations and CMBT terminus. "I had to walk to Egmore railway station under this hot scorching sun with my wife and two kids, to board a train to Tambaram," said K Srinivasan, a resident of Cowl Bazaar near Pallavaram who returned by train from Erode on Monday morning.
School and college students
Students travelling on footboards is not a rare sight but on Monday even those who had never it had to do so, for lack of buses. Many others depended on their vehicle-owning friends and cabs. "I ended up paying `200 to reach my house in Mylapore from Nungambakkam," said Kavitha R, an undergraduate student of a
private college.
Quote hanger:
"Cab drivers wanted to earn more. If they are not satisfied with the amount shown, they cancelled rides," said T Venkatesh who was waiting with his family at Koyambedu bus terminus for a bus to Kumbakonam.