TIRUCHY: Four months after the Rs 31.89-crore integrated bus stand at Lalgudi was inaugurated, the facility remains largely underutilised as nearly half of the around 140 TNSTC and private mofussil buses on the Tiruchy-Lalgudi route continue to bypass the terminus and pick up passengers from near the old bus stand or along the Tiruchy-Lalgudi highway. Though the new bus stand was a welcome infrastructure project, its located nearly four kilometres away from the town, which purportedly discourages people from using it.
K Raja, a resident of Lalgudi, said, “People have to spend extra on autorickshaw or town buses to reach the new bus stand. Naturally, many people prefer boarding buses from the old bus stop inside the town.”
According to TNSTC officials, buses were initially directed to operate exclusively through the new terminus after its inauguration. However, following representations from students, buses were allowed to enter the old bus stand area between 8 am and 9 am and between 4 pm and 5 pm to help students who found it difficult to travel to the new facility. Residents, however, alleged that many buses continue to stop there beyond the permitted timings, resulting in traffic congestion.
Bus drivers also allegedly avoid entering the new bus terminus to save time, as it is a large facility and takes longer to navigate. Instead, they stop on the highway and pick up passengers, making the new facility largely underutilised.
Commuters have also raised concern over the management of buses inside the new bus stand.
J Vennila Rani, who regularly commutes to Chathiram bus stand from Lalgudi, alleged that buses are often parked near the timekeeper’s office at the new facility instead of their designated bays.” Passengers find it confusing, and many buses are also parked together on one side,” she alleged.
Limited bus movement has also affected commercial activity within the new terminus. Of the around 100 shops constructed and allotted on rent, only about 20 are occupied.
A Karuppiah, a shop owner, said traders pay a rent of nearly Rs 6,000 a month, apart from paying electricity bill. “On several days, our sales do not even cross Rs 500. We have repeatedly submitted petitions to the collector, TNSTC and municipality seeking full-fledged bus operations, but no concrete action has been taken,” he alleged.
A TNSTC official said a checking inspector had been deployed to ensure buses entered the new terminus and were parked in their designated bays, adding that penalties were also levied on operators violating the rules. However, shopkeepers alleged that the enforcement lasted only for a day before violations resumed. A senior TNSTC official told TNIE that efforts are under way to streamline operations.
Lalgudi Municipal Commissioner M Buhendri said that a joint meeting with the Transport Department and TNSTC had been convened this week, and letters issued to ensure all buses were routed through the new bus stand and parked in their designated bays.
