Recently, Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority, in a post on X stated that Kalaignar Centenary Bus Terminus (KCBT) in Kilambakkam saw a huge inflow of passengers travelling from Chennai to other districts for Deepavali.
As per the estimates by MTC, more than 5.25 lakh people travelled to their home towns in 8,284 buses from KCBT on the three days preceding Deepavali (October 28 to 30).
These numbers may not be a big surprise, but it holds significance as it officially puts Kilambakkam as the new Koyambedu. Opened in December 2023, this festival season served as litmus test for KCBT as it had an onerous task of proving itself as the new gateway for passengers travelling to the southern districts of Tamil Nadu such as Trichy, Kumbakonam and Salem.
This new arrangement has also distributed passenger flow in the three bus stands of the city (CMBT in Koyambedu and the Madhavaram bus terminus being the other two, which caters to commuters travelling to west and north respectively).
An MTC official working closely at Kilambakkam terminus says the Deepavali commuter traffic is promising, and that the department had taken up various measures to cater to the festival rush, most important being pressing more buses into service.
“Kilambakkam is the new Koyambedu but with added amenities and features. The fact that buses can be parked inside the sprawling bus terminus is a huge bonus. Within 10 minutes, a bus reaches the bus bay from the parking point,” says the official.
To attend to the Deepavali rush, additional parking facilities for long-distance buses was also arranged at Vandalur Zoo and Karasangal Sports Ground.
“In Koyambedu, buses are parked near the flower bazaar and Anna Nagar terminus, so there is delay while coming to the bus stand, which is avoided at KCBT thus ensuring there are buses every 10 minutes,” says the official.
From buses plying round-the-clock to a host of amenities for passengers, a lot of new features have been initiated at this new facility.
Regular commuters say there is more scope to increase the patronage of TNSTC and MTC buses.
“There must be point-to-point services to Kilambakkam from various destinations in the city. For example, from Anna Nagar to Kilambakkam we need direct MTC services as this will save time,” says T. K. Pandian, a regular commuter who has shared feedback about improving public transport.
There is also a need to implement several new urban infrastructure projects to improve the share of passengers using public transport to reach the terminus. A railway station in Kilambakkam (work on which is under way) will reduce the travel time of commuters dependent on Urapakkam and Vandalur stations.
“There is also a need to ply battery-operated vehicles from GST Road to Kilambakkam bus stand,” says Pandian.
Published - November 03, 2024 07:47 pm IST
