The Metropolitan Transport Corporation (Chennai) Ltd. - (MTC), is the agency that operates the public bus service in Chennai, India. It is a subsidiary of Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation Ltd. As of December 2022 the MTC had a total fleet of 3,436 buses with 3,233 scheduled services, with on average 2.946 million passengers per day.^[1] On March 22, 2016, the Union 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 604 routes with its largest terminus being Broadway in Central Chennai.

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 buses These buses in the MTC fleet were manufactured by Ashok Leyland and Tata 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 buses The 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 under JNNURM are BS-III compliant and have LED displays. Some continue to ply while most of them are replaced by newer buses

Vestibule services MTC also runs articulated 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 buses MTC earlier operated low-floor Volvo 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 newer Ashok Leyland electric buses.^[9]

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

• Ordinary Pink City Service: It is a non-AC bus service with 2+2 bench type non-reclining seater seats built on single-axle Ashok 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-axle Tata 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-axle Ashok 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-axle Ashok Leyland or Tata 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-axle Ashok Leyland or Tata chassis with lesser stops and a new red-grey livery.

The Metropolitan Transport Corporation had 33 depots in 2020,^[11] 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.^[12] In 2023, a new Kilambakkam depot was opened as part of the Kilambakkam Bus Terminus bringing the number of active depots to 32.

The 34 depots of the Metropolitan Transport Corporation (as of 2023) are listed below:

All routes operate in both direction

As of 2012, MTC's advertisement revenue per month is ₹ 86 lakhs.^[13] About 2,000 of the MTC's 3,400 buses have been maintained by companies that advertise on the buses since December 2011, but the advertisement space was open for all to bid. In 2012, MTC decided to allow only those companies that take up the cleaning assignment. Still they will have to pay the market rate for the space, while they will get paid for the cleaning. As of 2012, the corporation pays ₹ 18 per bus per cleaner every day.^[14]

As of 17 Apr 2013 The total revenue per day of all the buses is 2.75 cr ^[15]

The MTC buses have an occupancy ratio (average number of passengers to total seating capacity in a bus) of 84.35%. Each MTC bus can carry 72 people, including 24 standing passengers. The occupancy ratio in Chennai is amongst the highest for the 38 transport corporations in the country.^{[16] [17]}

The MTC services are not integrated with the Mass Rapid Transit System.^[18] Some of the MRTS stations are located away from bus stops which makes transfers difficult.^[19][20] Recently mini-buses have started to ply as a feeder to plug the gaps in connectivity. There are buses to various parts of the city from the airport and some air passengers and many airport employees, use the service. The bus stop is close to the international terminal.^[21]

The accident rate of MTC is high compared to similar metropolitan transport corporations in the country.^[22] In Chennai, 104 people died in 2012 in accidents involving MTC buses. The driver unions are blamed for violations going unpunished and continuing unabated.^{[23][24] [25]}

To mitigate the no. of accidents, officials of the corporation and the traffic police conduct refresher courses and yoga classes for MTC drivers.^[23][26][27]

• State Express Transport Corporation
• Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation
• Transport in Chennai