CHENNAI: Around 4,000 buses were operated by the State government from five bus stands in Chennai, bringing the much needed festive cheer to passengers late on Friday evening as they flocked the terminus to reach their native places to celebrate Pongal.
Long-distance passengers were struggling till noon as only 40 per cent of scheduled buses were operated from the CMBT, Saidapet, Tambaram, Poonamallee and Anna Nagar West though the strike was called off on Thursday evening. The five bus terminuses were flooded with passengers. It was only around 9.30 pm that all regular buses operated from the temporary bus stands. In addition to this, reservation counters for special buses opened at the CMBT and Tambaram. In addition to the 2,275 regular bus services, more than 1,750 special buses operated on Friday, according to official sources.
As the bus operation was restored only at the eleventh hour, many commuters who did not get government buses in the morning booked tickets for omnibuses at exorbitant fares. “I purchased a ticket for an omnibus for ` 2500 to Tirunelveli. As the strike was withdrawn, I sold it to one of my friends and came to Koyambedu. But, to my shock, not many buses operated,” said Chellappa, a commuter at the CMBT.
SETC and TNSTC official sources said the buses underwent periodic maintenance at depots, due to which special buses did not operate in the morning. However, since evening almost the entire fleet of the SETC and the TNSTC were put into operation,” said an SETC official.
The uncertainty over the operation of bus services had forced many passengers to book tickets at higher prices for omnibuses. “Had I known that government buses would ply, I would not have purchased omnibus tickets, spending ` 7500 for four tickets to Madurai,” said another passenger Nachimuthu.
Each and every bit of space in south-bound trains, particularly Pandiyan Express, Nellai Express, Kanniyakumari Express, Podhigai Express and Rock Fort Express were occupied by passengers. The Egmore and Central railway stations were thronged by thousands of passengers throughout the day.