CHENNAI: Commuters travelling to Arani, Tirupattur, Neyveli and Nellore from Chennai can now have comfortable journey without burning a hole in their pockets. The Villupuram division of Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation (TNSTC) has recently introduced 30 economy class air conditioned buses connecting Chennai with 13 towns in neighbhouring districts and parts of Andhra Pradesh.
The destinations are Puducherry, Tirupati, Tiruttani, Tiruvannamalai, Neyveli, Arani, Vellore, Tirupattur, Villupuram , Nellore, Kancheepuram and Cuddalore.
“Of the 50 low cost AC buses proposed, 30 have been introduced and the remaining would be put into operation by end of this month,” said R Muthukrishn, Managing Director, TNSTC (Villupuram).
The launch of low cost AC buses is aimed at preventing the migration of commuters from government to private buses for better services. Initially, two buses were introduced in Chennai - Vellore and Chennai - Tiruvannamalai routes in March. The AC buses having 2X3 seating pattern were charged at 100 paise per km as against regular ultra deluxe AC bus rate of 140 paise per km. In addition, Rs. 10 being collected for these AC buses.
These buses being operated in routes that covers 80 to 200 km distances, said official sources. S Krishnan, a regular bus commuter from Tiruvallur said, “The Chennai - Nellore AC bus has got less stoppages, but travel time has not come down. The bus has got suspension brake and the seats also looked comfortable. The bus fare is much cheaper than APSRTC AC buses,”.
According to official records, two AC buses introduced from Chennai to Vellore and Tiruvannamalai in March registered a profit of over Rs. 3.5 lakh per month and yielded a revenue of Rs. 8.65 per km which is highest amoung any buses operated in the State.
Among the six divisions of TNSTC, Villupuram which caters Chennai, Villupuram, Vellore, Kancheepuram, Tiruvallur, Cuddalore and Tiruvannamalai districts and Puducherry Union Terrirotiry remain one of the most profited corporation because of huge transportation demand. The travel demand manifolded in the recent years due to large scale migration of people from neighbhouring districts to Chennai and better road connectivity, pointed out official sources.
“20 more AC buses would be introduced in ten routes including Vellore - Bengaluru, Tiruvannamalai - Bengaluru and Kallakuruchi - Tirupati in another ten days,” said the official.
Fact file:
Proposed AC buses: 50
30 buses introduced from Chennai in 12 routes:
Puducherry (via Tindivanam and ECR) Tirupati (via Tiruttani and Kalahasthi), Tiruvannamalai, Neyveli, Arani, Vellore, Tirupattur, Villupuram, Nellore and Cuddalore.
One route: Tambaram to Kancheepuram.
20 AC buses to be introduced in ten routes by end of November:
Vellore-Bengaluru(4), Tiruvannamalai- Bengaluru (4), Kallakuruchi - Tirupati (2), Adyar - Tiruvannamalai (2), Vellore - Kalpakkam(1), Vellore - Sholinganallur (1), Vellore - Tambaram(2)Chidamabaram - Chennai (2), Vaniyambadi - Chennai (1) and Vellore - Chennai(1)