250 special buses operated to meet festival and weekend rush

The Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation (TNSTC) and State Express Transport Corporation (SETC) will operate special buses to various destinations in the state. Transport officials said that they were already operating additional buses to reduce congestion and enable commuters to travel in comfort.

Officials said that operating additional buses during festivals like Deepavali, Pongal and Vinayagar Chaturthi was the usual practice they followed. They added that the Chennai Mofussil Bus Terminus (CMBT) witnessed over 2 lakh commuters in 24 hours since Friday night. 

“I always go home to celebrate Vinayakar Chaturthi and since the next three days are holidays, I know that there will be a large crowd at the CMBT for buses. So I reached the terminus in the morning (Saturday),” said M Vijay Ganesh, a techie, who was waiting for a bus to Paramakkudi. He also added that he learnt that the transport staff were making announcements at CMBT about special buses plying to various destinations. 

Meanwhile, the Regional Transport Officers (RTOs) have formed special teams which will check fare hikes and overloading of passengers in vehicles. “We are inspecting all the buses, including omni buses, and checking whether they are collecting extra fares from passengers,” said a staff member from the Regional Transport Office. 

A state level senior officer of SETC said that they operated 250 additional buses on Friday night. “However, we will observe the crowd, and based on need, more buses will be deployed in the next two days. We also think that a greater number of additional buses will be operated on Monday night as commuters in large numbers will return to the city,” the official said.

A total of 50 Metropolitan Transport Corporation (MTC) buses are on standby to clear the local crowd, according to MTC officials. “As of now, there is no crowd in the city. The buses on standby will be operated only if we find that there is overcrowding,” an official said.