Bus Fares Hike in Tamilnadu and Cyclists on Chennai Roads

The Government of Tamilnadu hiked recently:

• Bus Fare,
• Milk Prices and
• Electricity Charges.

Affected by the hike in Bus Fares, people who used to travel by public buses from one end of Chennai to the other end at about 20 kms, to their offices/work places have now switched over to use their bicycles.And as most of the Chennai roads have:

• neither padestrian footpaths

• nor separate lane for the cyclists.

And the cyclists in Chennai City have to struggle in the fast moving traffic. The fatalities involving pedestrians and cyclistsl account for over 40 per cent of all road accident deaths each month. The number of accidents involving cyclists has been estimated as 400 per year.

The lack of infrastructure for cyclists and pedestrians of the elegant city of Chennai needs to be urgently addressed. And the government’s proposal to upgrade 100 km of city roads to ‘world class’ standards must incorporate facilities to cyclists and pedestrians.

Only as and if proper infrastructure is provided, fatalities would come down. And segregating traffic will also make traffic management easier for the Police.