Information desks of no use, rue passengers

CHENNAI: The Metropolitan Transport Corporation known for its lack of economy in operations, seems to have garnered the reputation for extreme economy in passing on information these days. You would be more likely to get wisecracks and irritated barks from staff at bus terminuses rather than correct and helpful information. Even measures that are meant to bypass these moody arbiters of information like display boards on bus timings, are poorly maintained in bus terminuses across the city. The result, quite simply, is confusion. Every bus terminus is supposed to have a functioning public address system, through which MTC staff are supposed to announce bus departures and other information helpful to passengers. However, staff, or commuters for that matter, are unaware about this. They only wear a puzzled look on their faces. To put simply, such a system doesn’t work or is never put to use.Information counters are also manned by staff,whose mood plays a major role in whether a commuter walks away irritated, confused or informed. The Vadapalani Bus Terminus, among Chennai’s oldest terminuses, for instance, had an irate hand at the information desk and lacks signboards about routes and timings. The plight of an aged commuter at the Thiruvanmiyur Bus Terminus captured the spirit, or the lack of it, of MTC’s information dispensation. L Ganesamurthy, a 74-year-old, was spotted on the platform, looking at the buses as they whizzed past. “The man at the counter was not forthcoming with information. I am old and cannot climb on the regular buses. So, I asked him for the timings of the low floor buses. I learnt nothing from him. So, I am sitting here and waiting till a low-floor bus leaves,” he said. Drivers and conductors at bus terminuses seem more helpful, willingly parting with information about when they would leave. “I can tell you about buses on my route. But for other routes, you need to check with drivers of  the respective buses. There is an information desk only for namesake. We will be glad and helpful if you can get anything out of them,” said Vijay, a driver.