exercise. The entire system is done manually which is time-consuming and may not have accurate data as the procedure is not computerised a senior officer from the MTC says.
The second biggest hurdle is ensuring that the needs are met, given the existing physical number of buses they have. MTC serves the Chennai Metropolitan Area (CMA) that spans an area of 1189 sq km,
but has only 3651 buses in total.
While rationalizing routes, the MTC official says, it is difficult to manage the operations without withdrawing buses from other routes. As the transport agency has incurred heavy losses, adding more buses to the fleet every now and then is not possible, they say.
Many are critical. The fleet
strength, in fact, has dipped marginally in the past five years. But commuters complain about crowded buses,
especially during peak hours, and the low frequency of buses during the grievance redressal meetings. A transport agency should not be operated to generate only revenue,”
adds Sumana.
The ideal way to go about the rationalisation exercise is by developing digital infrastructure. According
to a transportation expert, the MTC does not have a system that gives data like the travel destination of commuters, how many switch multiple buses to reach their destinations and how the optimisation exercise will impact commuters. An electronic ticketing system is needed to get the precise data as manual analysis of data is difficult. The MTC should also analyse how it can mobilise maximum commuters during peak hours for which real-time data is crucial says a mobility expert.
The good news is that this
could soon become a reality, as there is a proposal to develop the IT
infrastructure, as part of which GPS devices will be installed to find the real-time location of buses as well as the software to manage and operate the entire system.
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