Bus priority lanes & BRTS fail to take off even as MTC preferred over metro

Bus system needs boost to improve ridership as shift to cars, bikes worsens congestion: Experts

- C SHIVAKUMAR

AMBITIOUS initiatives like the Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS) and bus priority lanes (BPL), which were aimed at boosting public transport patronage in Chennai and in turn reducing traffic congestion, have failed to take off. This is despite the acute need to increase the ridership in MTC buses, which has dipped compared to what it was 15 years ago since the increasing population primarily opted for private vehicles for commuting.

MTC bus ridership declined from a maximum of 53 lakh per day in 2010 to around 31 lakh per day in 2023-2024. While the ridership has shown signs of increase in the last two years from around 27.4 lakh per day in 2022-2023 to over 31 lakh now, it is yet to recover fully to prepandemic figures (around 41 lakh in 2018).

While the daily ridership in metro trains has increased to around 2.8 lakh passengers as of May, it is still only around 9% of the MTC's ridership, indicating the MTC's continuing importance as the key mode of public transport and the need to improve it.