Poor condition of State-run AC buses draws flak among passengers

Poor maintenance of AC buses in Tiruchi and Madurai regions by TNSTC causing discomfort among passengers, despite periodic checks.

Poor maintenance of air-conditioned long distance buses operated on select routes in Tiruchi and Madurai regions by Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation has drawn flak among passengers.

It was with a view to making the journey more comfortable that the State government introduced air-conditioned bus services on selected routes about a few years ago. Tiruchi-Madurai sector, a highly patronised route in the State, was among them. A section of AC buses has been classified as ‘one to one’. They run non-stop without halting anywhere between the two destinations to reduce travel time.

The AC buses received good patronage among passengers since their introduction. The buses had modern passenger friendly facilities. They were neat and clean in the initial stages. However, as the years passed, the condition of some of them has deteriorated mainly due to poor maintenance, thereby causing discomfort to the passengers.

Broken seats, unclean and damaged floors, rusted window panes and dirty screens and seat covers are a common sight on Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation buses in the region. There are also buses that have improper reclining seats and damaged window bulbs. The decibel of vibration is also high, say passengers.

“It is horrible to see the bad condition of facilities in AC buses. They are not even cleaned properly. I had to wipe out the thick layer of dirt particles with a towel before occupying the seats,” says M. Karuppaiah of Madurai, who travelled along with his family members in an AC bus from Tiruchi to Madurai a few days ago.

At least two seats in the bus were found damaged. With all seats filled, three passengers had no other option but to travel on the damaged seats with the sense of fear of falling down.

Another passenger, M. Vimal of Palakkarai in Tiruchi, complained of poor AC flow, damaged poles and grab handles in buses. He said that most of the damages could have been averted if the buses were maintained in a time-bound manner.