Chennai on the move

Crowds outside 'The Hindu' office in 1949, to know cricket score. A tram can be seen 

in the background

In the 1920s, the conflict of choice propelled development of public transport. By the 50s, it turned into a battle for space

Traversing distances within the city, for the ordinary resident in cusp-of-the-20 century Madras, was a rather ‘railed in’ affair.

Trams and trains were the dominant modes of public transport. However, with the dawn of the new century, the thrill of ‘rail-less’ motored conveyance unleashed a battle on the city’s roads.

The Hindu, in July 1924, announced that the motor bus was increasingly emerging as a formidable rival to the tram service plying since 1895 within city premises.

Half-decker bus in Madras

The advantages of speed, unhinged mobility, and the novelty of automobilism sure did irk tramway authorities. In a telling move, they agreed to take on expansion plans on the Marina only on the condition of being assured passenger monopoly.

Appropriating the motorbus left early pioneers struggling with daunting logistics. The need for ‘scientific handling’ by trained drivers, setting up service stations for repair, among other things, propelled the formation of the Madras City Bus Owner’s Association on Venkatachala Chetty Street in Triplicane, in August 1924.

Coursing through Luz and Broadway for Re. 1 or Rs. 2, it was primarily the office-going public which availed of the new service. So much so that in a letter to the editor, an indignant reader wrote, ‘Why can’t drivers ferry people of different stations on their route? Why should people at Mount Road, Chepauk and Park Town be denied this service?’

The City Bus Service launched in 1929, with a fleet of 12 new buses connecting Triplicane, Parry’s Corner and Royapuram, hoped to address this lack.

Soon enough, it was the onslaught of taxis the motor bus had to contend with. India Co. Ltd. and British American Motors introduced a taxi service of ‘high-class cars’ timed with the visit of the Duke of Connaught to the city, as early as December 1920.

To democratise the service, a proposal to bring in a smaller variant along the lines of the black and yellow taxis of Bombay was pitched.

By 1953, U Krishna Rao, minister of transport and industry, introduced 25 baby taxis in the city. Tagged with a white bill, the small saloon cars could carry three passengers at 6 annas per mile, with 2 annas for every 10 minutes of waiting.

Regular taxis were fighting a losing battle. Baby taxis and autorickshaws, which too had staked a claim on the roads, became the means of transport the lower middle classes increasingly relied on.

With the tramways downing shutters in 1953, the fight for the roads of Madras became all the more fierce.

By 1955, large, diesel-powered, 28-36 seaters replaced the small petrol-driven buses. Taxis, autorickshaws and buses jostled for space amidst a vibrant, non-motored road community (carts,jutkas, rickshaws).

While it was the conflict of choice that propelled the battle for the roads in the 1920s, the 50s found it distinguished by the wrestle for space as it were. For the thousands travelling by public transport, with distances bridged, the city sure did become a smaller place.

H 22 Aug 2014