Metropolitan Transport Corporation (Chennai) Ltd.

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Mānakara Pōkkuvarattu Kaḻakam (Ceṉṉai)

Formerly	Pallavan Transport Corporation Dr. Ambedkar Transport Corporation
Parent	Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation Ltd.
Headquarters	Pallavan House,Anna Salai,Chennai,Tamil Nadu
Locale	Chennai,Tamil Nadu
Service area	Chennai Metropolitan Area
Service type	Ordinary, Express, Deluxe, Air Conditioned Deluxe and Small Bus
Daily ridership	5.902 million per day (2023-24)
Operator	Government of Tamil Nadu
Website	https://mtcbus.tn.gov.in

TheMetropolitan Transport Corporation (Chennai) Ltd. (MTC), is the agency that operates thepublicbus service inChennai, India. It is a subsidiary ofTamil Nadu State Transport Corporation Ltd. As of August 2024 the MTC had a total fleet of 3,376 buses with 3,233 scheduled services, with on average 5.092 Million passengers on an average per day.^[1] On March 22, 2016, theUnion Ministry of Road Transport and Highways reported that Chennai had the most crowded buses in the country with 1300 passengers per bus in each direction per day.^[2] During peak hours, on some routes, a bus with a capacity to accommodate 80 persons carries twice the number of people due to the extensiveness of the system. It has an operating area of 3,929 square kilometres (1,517 sq mi).^[3] MTC has a total of 668 routes with its largest terminus beingBroadway in Central Chennai.

The Pallavan Transport Corporation Ltd was established on 1 January 1972 with a fleet strength of 1,029 buses. The operationaljurisdiction is theChennai Metropolitan area. It served 176 routes and had 8 depots, including those atT. Nagar,Adyar, andVadapalani. Depots atAnna Nagar andK.K. Nagar were established in 1973.^[4] The Pallavan Transport Corporation was split into two and a new Corporation, namely, Dr. Ambedkar Transport Corporation Ltd. started functioning from 19 January 1994. The depots in the northern areas of the city were brought under Dr. Ambedkar Transport Corporation Ltd and the southern depots came under Pallavan Transport Corporation. Pallavan Transport Corporation was renamed as Metropolitan Transport Corporation (Madras Division - I) Limited and Dr. Ambedkar Transport Corporation was renamed as Metropolitan Transport Corporation (Madras Division - II) Ltd., on 1 July 1997. In order to make the Corporations viable, and for better administrative control, Metropolitan Transport Corporation (Madras Division II) was amalgamated with Metropolitan Transport Corporation (Madras Division I) Ltd on 10 January 2001.

As of 2012, the corporation operates 42,961 services daily in 800 routes.^[5] The driver strength at MTC is 5,000 as against a required driver strength of 5,800.^[6]

In May 2017, the MTC had a scheduled fleet of 3688 buses and total fleet strength of 3968 buses.

On 20 January 2018, the MTC introduced a controversial rise in fares with minimum fares for ordinary buses going up from Rs 2 to Rs 5, and maximum fare going up from Rs 12 to Rs 23, the fares were also hiked for other categories of buses with the minimum fare for Express buses becoming Rs 8 and maximum becoming Rs 35 while the minimum fares of Deluxe buses were Rs 12 and maximum fares Rs 48, this was the first such price hike since 2011. This was followed with an increase in the number of deluxe buses (from 900 to 1200) which were the costliest buses. This led to a 30% fall in the number of daily passengers within 3 months. The MTC had projected a 40% rise in daily revenue from Rs 25 million to Rs 40 million but ended up receiving only Rs 28 million in daily revenue i.e. a 12% increase.^[7]

The total size of fleet of the MTC is 3688, of which 3492 buses are operated every day on an average. MTC operates over 5000 services daily covering about 830 routes. The last time buses were added to the fleet was in January 2020.^[8]

Per RTO rules, an MTC bus could accommodate a maximum of 83 passengers, including 48 sitting and 27 standing. However, buses carry over 160 passengers in some routes, especially during peak hours, with many travelling on the footboard of the bus resulting in several accidents. According to Union Transport Ministry of India on March 22, 2016, Chennai was reported to have the most crowded buses in the country with 1300 passengers per bus per day per direction. This is due to the extensive routes the buses ply to and also the cost which is reasonably less than some of the major cities in the country. An exclusive and efficient BRTS on dedicated elevated roads is being proposed by MTC as well as the Tamil Nadu Government in order to improve the share of public transport. For a city like Chennai, ideally more than 60% of the people should be using public transport systems. However, owing to its vehicle density which is the second highest in the country, only 40% of the citizenry use public transport which is quite low.

Normal busesThese buses in the MTC fleet were manufactured byAshok Leyland andTata Motors. These buses were launched in the 1990s and some continue to ply while the majority have been replaced in favor of newer buses.

Semi-Low floor busesThe semi-low floored and deluxe buses have improved passenger amenities like improved lighting,plastic moulded seats and driver operated pneumatic, doors into its fleet. The first set of such buses from Ashok Leyland were introduced in February 2007. The newer range of these semi-low floor buses supplied underJNNURM are BS-III compliant and have LED displays. Some continue to ply while most of them are replaced by newer buses

Vestibule servicesMTC also runsarticulated buses provided by Ashok Leyland in congested routes. The fares are similar to those of ordinary services. These buses have 2 conductors, plastic moulded seats and LED boards. Around the end of 2017, some of these buses are condemned and no longer in service.

Air-conditioned busesMTC earlier operatedlow-floorVolvo B7RLE air-conditioned buses on selected routes. There were 100 of these buses running on select routes at regular intervals when they were introduced. They stopped operating in 2018 owing to poor and higher cost of maintenance, and replaced in favor of newerAshok Leyland electric buses.^[9]

Small busesMTC has launched small-bus services to connect remote places of Chennai and its suburbs. These buses are provided by Tata.

Low-Floor busses These buses in the MTC fleet were introduced to improve accessibility for all passengers, especially the elderly and differently-abled. Manufactured byAshok Leyland, they feature pneumatic doors, low entry steps, and LED route displays. Currently there are about 611 low floor busses running in Chennai. Similarlyelectriclow-floor busses have also been procured by MTC.^[10]

• Ordinary Pink City Service: It is a non-AC bus service with 2+2 bench type non-reclining seater seats built on single-axleAshok Leyland chassis with a brown-cream livery with front and back sides in pink. Female passengers can travel for free on these buses.
• Ordinary City Service: It is a non-AC bus service with 2+2 bench type non-reclining seater seats built on single-axleTata chassis with a brown-cream livery.
• Mini Bus Service: It is a non-AC mini bus service with 2+2 bench type non-reclining seater seats built on single-axleAshok Leyland chassis with a grey livery. It was launched to connect remote places, suburbs and also act as a feeder service.
• Deluxe City Service: It is a non-AC bus service with 2+2 non-reclining seater seats built on single-axleAshok Leyland orTata chassis with lesser stops and a red livery.
• Deluxe City AC Service: It is an AC bus service with 2+2 non-reclining seater seats built on single-axleAshok Leyland orTata chassis with lesser stops and a new red-grey livery.

The Metropolitan Transport Corporation had 33 depots in 2020,^[12] each with an average parking capacity of 200 buses. Besant Nagar and M.K.B Nagar depots became defunct in 2020 and was merged with Adyar and Vyasarpadi respectively. This number has fallen to 31 in 2022.^[13] In 2023, a new Kilambakkam depot was opened as part of the Kilambakkam Bus Terminus. It is planned that there will be an inaugration of Anna Nagar East depot and Semmencheri depot in June-July 2025, bringing the number of active depots to 32.

The 36 depots of the Metropolitan Transport Corporation (as of 2025) are listed below:

All routes operate in both directions, similar to the MTC control system in Chennai, and are effective in the regions of Tiruvallur, Chengalpattu, and Kanchipuram