CHENNAI: A total of 14,086 government buses will be operated across Tamil Nadu between October 28 and 30 to facilitate transportation for commuters during the Deepavali festival, according to Transport Minister S S Sivasankar.
It is estimated that 5.83 lakh commuters will travel from Chennai during these three days.
Speaking after a coordination meeting at the Secretariat, Sivasankar mentioned that, unlike last year, buses will only be operated from the Kalaignar Centenary Bus Terminus (KCBT) in Kilambakkam, Chennai Mofussil Bus Terminus (CMBT) in Koyambedu and Madhavaram Mofussil Bus Terminus in Madhavaram. No services will run from temporary stands at Tambaram MEPZ, Poonamallee, or other locations. Transport Secretary K Phanindra Reddy and other officials attended the meeting.
Sivasankar announced that 4,900 special buses would run from Chennai to various parts of the state between October 28 and 30. An additional 2,092 regular buses will also be in operation during this period to assist commuters. Furthermore, 2,910 special buses will be operated from locations outside of Chennai.
For the return journey after Deepavali, 3,165 special buses will be available to Chennai from various parts of the state, alongside 2,092 regular services daily between November 2 and 4. Another 3,165 buses will cater to destinations outside of Chennai.
The Minister also noted that 1.02 lakh passengers have already reserved seats on government buses for travel between October 25 and November 2. Buses to Andhra Pradesh and Ponneri will depart from MMBT, while services to ECR, Vellore, Kancheepuram, and Bengaluru will depart from CMBT. Buses heading to Puducherry (via Tambaram – Tiruchy NH), Cuddalore, Kumbakonam, Thanjavur, Tiruchy, Madurai, and other key destinations will operate from KCBT.
Nine reservation centres have been set up at KCBT and CMBT, and for the convenience of commuters, MTC buses will run around the clock between KCBT and CMBT, Sivasankar added.