Pushing a Bus

Ever seen people trying to push a bus to get it to start, right in the middle of the road? I’m guessing not! I was driving past the Santhome Cathedral Basilica and was wondering what all the traffic was about. As I turned to my left, I noticed the bus. It had broken down and the passengers and the conductor were pushing it so they could restart it and get moving so they can reach their homes on time. I saw the same scene a few hours late near Ega Theater again.

The METROPOLITAN TRANSPORT CORPORATION (CHENNAI) LTD, we refer to it as the MTC, though is know as one of the best services in India. With round the clock service, 26 Bus Depots, a fleet of 2845 busses, 551 routes and employee strength of 18,000 people it covers an area of 1166 square kilometers around Chennai City. It serves an average of 4 million people everyday, but the collection are just Rs.12.2 Million (USD 297,560), which works out to a paltry sum of 7.5 United States Cents per passenger. Fares are calculated based on stages, with each stage being approximately 2 kilometers, for one stage the fare is Rs.2 (4.8 cents) and for 23 stages the fare is just Rs.7 (17 cents). A small little fact that not many people know, all MTC busses have the registration code of TN-01-N-xxxx. The service, though very poor now, is constantly improving with services going up and fares too!

July Theme Day : The Color Red

This is my first theme day, and in fact my first picture after restarting Chennai Daily Photo. The red light at a traffic signal is something common all over the world, but what’s unique, I think, about Chennai and other places in India, is that you have traffic lights but you also have cops standing around to make sure that the lights are obeyed. Problem is, a few people here generally don’t respect traffic lights mostly because it’s easy to get away because there are no cameras to record it and get them another day. I was told by a friend in the know though, that cameras are on the way. There are other cities participating in today’s theme day as well, here they are.

Shanghai, China - Mumbai, India - New York City (NY), USA - Manila, Philippines - Albuquerque (NM), USA - Hamburg, Germany - Stayton (OR), USA - Los Angeles (CA), USA - Hyde, UK - Oslo, Norway - Brookville (OH), USA - Melbourne, Australia - Stavanger, Norway - Bellefonte (PA), USA - Bucaramanga (Santander), Colombia - Joplin (MO), USA - Singapore, Singapore - Selma (AL), USA - Cleveland (OH), USA - Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia - Chandler (AZ), USA - Stockholm, Sweden - Seattle (WA), USA - Boston (MA), USA - Arradon, France - Evry, France - Baton Rouge (LA), USA - Maple Ridge (BC), Canada - Boston (MA), USA - Grenoble, France - Cottage Grove (MN), USA - Greenville (SC), USA - Hilo (HI), USA - Nelson, New Zealand - La Antigua, Guatemala - Brisbane (QLD), Australia - Singapore, Singapore - Tel Aviv, Israel - Hong Kong, China - Sequim (WA), USA - Paderborn, Germany - Saarbrücken, GermanyRotterdam, Netherlands - Tenerife, Spain - Kyoto, Japan - Tokyo, Japan - Sydney, Australia - Naples (FL), USA - Cologne (NRW), Germany - Wassenaar (ZH), Netherlands - Saint Louis (MO), USA - Cypress (TX), USA - Ocean Township (NJ), USA - Mainz, Germany - Toruń, Poland - Menton, France - Monte Carlo, Monaco - Singapore, Singapore - North Bay (ON), Canada - Jakarta, Indonesia - Montréal (QC), Canada - Tuzla, Bosnia and Herzegovina - Minneapolis (MN), USA - Baziège, France - San Diego (CA), USA - Prague, Czech Republic - Ampang (Selangor), Malaysia - New York (NY), USA - Kajang (Selangor), Malaysia - Sharon (CT), USA - Newcastle (NSW), Australia - Port Angeles (WA), USA - Nottingham, UK - Villigen, Switzerland - Chicago (IL), USA - Torquay, UK - Brussels, Belgium - San Diego (CA), USA - Mexico (DF), Mexico - Saint Paul (MN), USA - Cape Town, South Africa - Paris, France - Seoul, Korea - Manila, Philippines - Milano, Italy - Austin (TX), USA - Chennai, India - Madrid, Spain - Seoul, South Korea - Wailea (HI), USA - Toronto (ON), Canada - Ajaccio, France - Buenos Aires, Argentina - Silver Spring (MD), USA - Zurich, Switzerland - Sydney, Australia - Budapest, Hungary - Moscow, Russia - Auckland, New Zealand - Torino, Italy

Monday Madness

Driving in the city on a monday evening is one of the most hectic things to do. After the relaxed weekend off, all that people can think about is getting home to thier couches where they can lie down and watch some television! The city is getting brighter as well , the old painted hoardings replaces with multi-colour vinyl ones and they are brightly lit as well. It does cause a distraction while driving, but I'm not going to complain about it !

Rush Hour

Rush hour in the city has got pretty pathetic, they are constantly working on the roads, expanding, diggning, wiring, cabbleing and God knows what else. This picture is a little after the actual rush hour, so its not very bad , and as you can see there are all sorts of vehicles on the road. One mad city to drive in!