CHENNAI: With the transport department deciding to extend free travel in government buses for children up to the age of five, travellers are worried that they won't be able to book tickets for their kids below that age.
On May 5, Transport Minister SS Sivasankar announced in the Assembly that the age limit for children to be eligible for free rides in government buses will be increased from three to five. At present, booking of seats in SETC and TNSTC buses is allowed only for children above the age of three.
While the top officials maintained that a G.O for implementing the announcement is yet to be released, the move is expected to prevent the booking of tickets for children between three and four years of age. In trains, the minimum age for availing berths/seats is five.
S Rajakannan, a bus enthusiast from Salem said, "To avail seats during train travel, I used to mention my daughter’s age as five instead of three. Now similar problems are going to arise in government buses too."
Another regular commuter S Jaganathan said: "Having a four-year-old kid on your lap for eight hours during a bus journey is a lot of inconvenience. The government should introduce options allowing commuters to book a ticket for children below the age of five if people are willing to pay full fare."
According to a recent policy note, the per day patronage of government buses is 1.55 crore as of March this year. "There is no official data on the share of children travelling for free in government buses. The move is aimed at enhancing patronage of government buses. For example, the free travel scheme for women significantly contributed to increasing patronage," said an official.
The decision is expected to benefit commuters who travel in MTC, and ordinary and mofussil services of TNSTC buses. When buses are overcrowded during peak hours, conductors of mofussil services usually ask parents/attenders to shift children to their laps and those who insist on seats for children are asked to purchase a ticket.
"However, when seats are empty, there are no issues. The same practice may be followed while implementing the new norms," said a conductor from TNSTC Villupuram division.
Transport corporations provide seats for children in the age group of 3 to 12 at 50 per cent of the fare. In trains, a full adult fare is charged for children between 5 and 12 years of age if a berth/seat is sought for them. They are charged 50 per cent of fare if seat/berth is not chosen.