SETC TNSTC boasts of best Online Ticketing Services
Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation’s (TNSTC), the largest bus transport corporation in the world with a fleet of 22,000 buses, one of the best online ticket booking services in the country
According to union surface transport sources, Andhra Pradesh with a similar strength had entered the Guinness Book of Records as the world’s largest transport corporation in October 1999.
Strangely enough, Kashmir, Assam, North Bengal, Bihar, Tripura, Manipur, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh have no online ticket reservation system, according to official sources.
While Gujarat and Karnataka transport corporation’s north east, north west and central units have dedicated websites, Tamil Nadu is the only state which has e-booking facilities for its Madurai, Coimbatore, Villupuram, Salem and Kumbakonam divisions.
State Express Transport Corporation’s (SETC) though has come in for lot of criticism for its services, still carries one lakh passengers daily and from 91-92 onwards, with the exception of 95-96, has won national awards in various transport related categories till 2013-14.
Separately, Chennai’s Metropolitan Transport Corporation (MTC) with its 3798 buses ferries around 52 lakh passengers daily earning Rs.3 crore daily. Though MTC, SETC and TNSTC occasionally hit the headlines for the wrong reasons, there is no gain saying the fact that if not for their over-used vehicles, the daily economy of the state would have come to a standstill.
Though state transport corporations in Kerala, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh provide passes for students and physically challenged, Tamil Nadu is the only state which provides this facility for senior citizens.
Source : dtNEXT.
TNSTC Blog - TamilNadu State Transport Corporation Blog 
I’m a huge fan of public transport and buses and I think they are really important for a city and state to function well. However, let’s not joke that MTC does a good job providing services. Yes, there are buses. Are they in good shape? No. Are they comfortable? No. Are there enough of them? No. Obviously, these guys are operating under a lot of constraints, financial and otherwise.
However, instead of acting as though they’re doing a great job simply because they run the service, I think it’s time a blog of your repute started taking a critical look at where their failings are and what can be done to improve services.
It’s not enough to just say, ‘hey, at least they’re providing buses’. That’s the bare minimum. It’s not a great achievement to just provide buses – they need to be comfortable, convenient, a viable alternative to private vehicles. In Chennai, only 30% of commuters use public transit? Why? Because buses are shoddy, unreliable and inconvenient.
MTC has a wealth of data on commuting in the devices and tickets it collects. Why not make that accessible to the public so that we can understand why public transport is in such a shoddy state in the capital?
Very disappointing. I hope TNSTC blog will recognise that it can play a role in shaping the future of public transit in Chennai & TN by being critical and demanding better services rather than just celebrating minor victories.
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