City buses fail to halt at stops, cause traffic woes

Trichy: City buses are halting away from designated bus stops and adding traffic chaos on the roads even as the width of existing city roads are not sufficient to accommodate the increasing number of road users. Apart from lack of enforcement by police, locals claim the absence of awareness among both the crew and passengers on utilising the bus stops.
Civic body sources said that there are about 181 bus stops falling within the city limits, but are rarely utilised by the 147 private buses or 180 buses belonging to the Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation (TNSTC). Instead of halting at the bus stops, particularly in Thennur, Thillai Nagar and near Thiruverumbur roads, buses stop at least by 6-7 feet away.

This not only affects movement of vehicles coming behind but also cause noise pollution as vehicles honk repeatedly.

“The bus stops at the railway junction and Palpannai are not serving their purpose as buses prefer halting at a distance. The city police should penalise such erring buses to prevent traffic congestion on busy roads,” said M Sekaran, member of road safety council.

“We have been collecting Rs 100 as penalty under the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, from buses that halt away from designated bus stops. Awareness has been given, but operators should advise their crew to follow road rules,” an official source with the city traffic police wing said.

Though private bus operators expressed willingness to participate in awareness programmes, they claim the absence of an initiative by authorities to address the issue.

Source