[sustran] MTC outshines 4 major bus utilities: Study

[Vinay Baindur]

http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-03-01/chennai/31113051_1_mtc-breakdowns-commuters



MTC outshines 4 major bus utilities: Study
Karthikeyan Hemalatha, TNN Mar 1, 2012, 06.48AM IST
Tags:

   - Metropolitan Transport
Corporation<http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/topic/Metropolitan-Transport-Corporation>

CHENNAI: Here's a heads-up for those who constantly gripe about the city's
sole bus operator : Metropolitan Transport Corporation operates the best
metro bus service, outperforming those in four other cities, Pune, Delhi,
Mumbai and Bangalore, according to a recent study.

The study by Parisar, a Pune-based non-governmental organisation, rated MTC
the best in three of six parameters. Parisar used data from the report
State Transport Undertaking: Profile and Performance by the Central
Institute Road Transport to make its comparative study, which notes that
MTC improved its services from 2009-10.
Breakdowns dropped by nearly three times in this period, said MTC
officials. The were only 280 breakdowns in February this year as compared
to 800 last November. There were 600 breakdowns in December and 400 in
January.

Officials say MTC has tightened its maintenance schedule. Increasing the
frequency of routine checks, such as for air pressure, has done the trick,
they say. "A flat tyre is the most common cause of vehicle failure. Air
checks were once a week earlier, but are now being done every alternate
day," said an MTC official.

Commuters say they are not sure if there are fewer vehicle failures these
days, but say it would be a relief if it were true and MTC could maintain
the record. "Bus breakdowns are a big problem," said college student
Nithyashree, a regular commuter. "We are forced to wait on the road for the
next bus to come by, which most often will be full and not have space for
extra passengers."

The police have meticulously updated MTC breakdowns on their Facebook wall
to alert commuters using the roads on which they occur. Police officers
agree that there are fewer MTC breakdowns these days. "The number has gone
down to 10 to 12 a day," said the ACP (traffic) Sanjay Arora.

The parameters in which MTC fared the best were regularity, breakdown rate
and average fare per kilometre. Bangalore Metropolitan Transport
Corporation was the best in terms of network reach and number of buses per
lakh of population. Mumbai's services topped in frequency. MTC also came up
trumps in operational efficiency and bus utilization.