CHENNAI: In good news for intra-state commuters in Tamil Nadu, a section of private omni bus owners will resume operations from Friday.
General secretary of All Omni Bus Operators Association A Anbalagan announced that at least 500 buses registered in Tamil Nadu will be operated. Some will connect the Chennai Mofussil Bus Terminus (CMBT) in Koyambedu with different parts of the state.
Anbalagan said omni buses will be operated in accordance with the regulations of the state government.
About 15-20 buses showed up on online booking websites. All the buses were fumigated at CMBT on Thursday since they were parked in the shelter for over three months.
"Currently the rush is a little less. We are expecting commuters to double during the weekend," said a member of the association.
However, some commuters said they are worried as the TNSTC buses being operated currently are heavily crowded and social distancing has gone for a complete toss during peak hours.
Ramani M, a regular commuter said, "During weekends, I even witnessed people travelling on the foot board. When the place gets very suffocating, people start removing masks, which is all the more dangerous."
But the Tamil Nadu Bus Owners Association, which over 4,000 bus operators are a part of, said their buses will stay off the roads till a direction from the court.
Private bus services were halted on March 24 due to the lockdown. Though the government had allowed operation of these buses, private bus associations decided not to resume services. They put forth a few demands including waiving road tax for the period in which buses did not operate and permission for full seating capacity and air-conditioned buses.