For its commuters struggling without last mile connectivity, the Chennai Metro Rail Ltd. (CMRL) is set to give some relief in the form of mini buses in a few days.
CMRL has been in talks with the Metropolitan Transport Corporation Chennai (MTC) and plans to operate mini buses from four stations — Chennai airport, Wimco Nagar, Alandur and Koyambedu, the sources said.
According to sources in CMRL, the mini buses will operate in a 5-6 km radius covering the important locations, and the routes have been identified already.
“Initially, there will about 12-15 buses that will run on these routes and Metro Rail will share operating expenses with MTC for running these buses,” another source said.
As expenses were to be shared this time, these mini buses will have the Metro Rail logo.
Last month, it was announced in the Assembly that 144 mini buses are not operational because of poor patronage and running them was causing a huge loss. Transport Minister R.S. Rajakannapan said these buses will now be put to use as feeder services from Chennai Metro Rail stations.
This may bring relief, especially to those travelling from Tambaram, Chromepet and Pallavaram areas to Chennai airport, provided there is good frequency, said some commuters.
Three years ago, CMRL saw its patronage improve when it introduced share autos and share cabs.
