CHENNAI: With the reopening of the schools’ across Tamil Nadu, students precariously standing on the footboard of overcrowded government buses during peak hours has become a familiar sight. Official sources attribute the congestion to the shortage of transport or cancellation of trips due to worn-out buses.
Now, to meet the shortage of buses, the transport department is set to rebuild 1,400 old buses across the State. A proposal to this effect was sent to the Tamil Nadu government seeking over Rs 130 crore.
This move comes after, in February this year, the government had announced it would procure 12,000 new buses, including 2,000 electric buses. However, the works halted after the Madras High Court restrained the transport department from purchasing new buses on a petition seeking disabled-friendly buses.
After assuming charge, the current regime repaired over 3,000 old buses and reintroduced them on their original routes. Over 95 per cent of them were over-aged. The fleet strength of the transport department which stood at 22,500 till 2013 plunged to 16,500 in May last year. After repairing old buses, over 19,500 buses are operated, said officials.
The delay in adding new buses to the fleet led to the reduction or cancellation of services in a few places. While more than 8,500 buses were worn-out in the last five years, 4,621 new buses were added to the fleet from transport corporations between July 2018 and January 2020.
Meanwhile, other measures were put in place to keep footboard travelling in check. “Officials in transport corporations were directed to take measures to curb students from footboard travelling. The RTOs and police were directed to monitor bus transportation during peak hours,” stated a transport official.