Keerapakkam residents ask MTC for more buses from Kilambakkam

Residents of Keerapakkam and neighbouring villages have petitioned the Metropolitan Transport Corporation (MTC) to run additional buses from the Kilambakkam bus terminus to Kandigai via Keerapakkam. In a submission to the MTC managing director, panchayat councillor D Sasikala Dhanasekaran said more than 15,000 people live in Keerapakkam, Murugamangalam and Arungal, with around 3,020 families in the panchayat.

The petition noted that surrounding panchayats such as Nallambakkam, Kumizhi, Karanaipuduchery and Urapakkam have a combined population of over 1 lakh. Since the Kilambakkam terminus opened, these areas have grown rapidly but lack adequate bus services, forcing school and college students, pregnant women, senior citizens, patients and daily-wage workers to rely on two-wheelers and private cars.

The councillor has requested five buses, including two low-floor buses, on the route via Urapakkam, Karanaipuduchery, Kattur, Arungal, Keerapakkam Housing Board and Murugamangalam Housing Board. A senior MTC official said two buses currently operate daily from Kilambakkam to Kandigai through Keerapakkam. Five more run from Tambaram West via Keerapakkam to Kandigai. The official added that buses from Kilambakkam earn only Rs 60 per km compared to Rs 90-102 per km from Tambaram East, but the MTC will study the feasibility of adding more services.