A TNSTC bus with a damaged seat at Periyar bus stand in Madurai. | Photo Credit: G. MOORTHY
A damaged seat in a TNSTC bus in Madurai on Sunday. | Photo Credit: R. ASHOK
The poor condition of floor of a TNSTC bus in Madurai on Sunday. | Photo Credit: G. MOORTHY
Government buses, which once served as one of the most affordable and safest modes of transport systems, have started losing reliability, owing to their poor maintenance and exorbitant fares.
Rampant criticism about the poor condition of Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation (TNSTC) buses often pops up on social media platforms uploaded by frustrated passengers.
A recent social media post by a passenger at the M.G.R. Bus Stand in Madurai depicted the actual case of the government buses. The passenger who boarded the bus seeing the dangling overhead hand grip and faulty head lights questioned the driver about the safety of the passengers who have boarded believing they would reach the destination safely.
With this scenario, one can get an overview of the overall situation of the government buses that are operated in the Madurai district. Drivers and conductors are not to be blamed for this bad shape of the buses as they too were frustrated complaining about the frequent issues to their department heads.
In Madurai region alone, there are 16 depots - Ponmeni, Ellis Nagar, Madurai city branch, Pudur, Melur, Thirupuvanam, Pudukulam, Sipcot, Bypass road city branch, Tiruparankundam, Tirumangalam, Sholavanthan, T. Kallupatti, Bypass road mofussil branch, Usilampatti and Chekkanurani.
According to sources, the number of buses in Madurai region is about 950 with 405 normal buses, 260 low-floor deluxe buses, 226 mofussil, 10 air-conditioned buses and 40 red buses.
A large number of TNSTC buses, particularly the low-floor deluxe buses and normal buses, can be seen with damage like torn seats, broken window rails, cracked roofs, and some even with holes in the floor. Some completely lacked window guard rails.
A TNSTC driver from Madurai said most of the buses running in the city were in a very bad condition requiring immediate repair works.
“Most of the buses that are being used were bought before 15 years, which is against the Motor Vehicles Act, 2016. As they have crossed their shelf life, repair works done would lead to further deterioration of the buses and about 40% buses needs replacement immediately,” he added.
Further, some of the basic fittings like rear-view mirrors, wipers, and brake shoe among others were not being taken into consideration by TNSTC officials for any repair works.
“Due to this, most of the drivers spend their own money to replace the damaged items taking into account their and passengers’ safety,” he added.
He alleged that the government bus which killed a traffic police personnel near Tiruparankundram a few weeks ago had complaints in braking system for over two weeks.
“The driver had mentioned that in the complaint notebook, but nothing was done from the technical side, which could have also caused the accident,” he claimed.
“As most of the buses running in the city were low-floor deluxe buses, the air balloon placed above the tyres, used for suspension had worn out, which would render buses stiff giving passengers no comfort,” said the driver.
“The fare charged in the deluxe buses is not worth it but fare is way too higher than the normal buses. Since deluxe buses were more comfortable than the normal buses during their launch, the fare was fixed higher, but now bearing in mind the bad condition of buses, tickets are overcharged,” he said.
“In the low-floor deluxe buses, it costs about ₹ 21 from Mattuthavani to Arapalayam, while in normal buses it would be only ₹ 10. While it is not going to be a smooth ride with no proper facilities, why would they charge such higher fare,” a passenger asked.
M. Nandu Singh, AITUC State functionary, said, “Most of the buses which are taken to the Regional Transport Offices (RTO) for inspection are given clearance without proper checking. If checked properly, most of buses would at least have their problems identified and rectified.”
“In recent days, road accidents caused by buses are increasing. The major reason for this would be either the negligence of officials in maintaining buses or the drivers overworking hours to fill the insufficiency of drivers,” he noted.
A passenger K. Dinesh, a 9th grade student who takes the 29K Karupatti bus every day from Periyar bus stand, said, “While it is manageable in normal days, the real struggle is during rainy days when the corners of the roofs and windows begin to leak. Nobody would be able to sit on the seats” he said.
Asked about the damaged window rail, a conductor explained, “We have intentionally removed the window rails near both the steps to avoid footboard traveling. Commuters, especially young students, cause huge menace by hanging on the rails throughout the journey during peak hours. This is a huge risk for both of us.”
A TNSTC official said, “The repair works were being undertaken regularly whenever a complaint is raised. The replacement of spare parts is done immediately without any delay.”
Refuting the drivers’ allegation that they buy spare parts on their own, the official said, “It was not true, as we at the workshop take care of the things that need to be changed and it is we who pay for the upkeep of the buses.”
