Buses off road

May 16 2017 : The Times of India (Chennai)

80% buses off road in central districts of TN

Day 1 of the `indefinite' strike by state-owned transport corporation employees in Tamil Nadu hit the travel plans of hundreds of commuters hard on Monday , but passed off rather peacefully without untoward incidents.

The state government managed to put at least 40 % of its fleet on the roads, while private buses pitched in to cushion the impact of the statewide strike called by 10 trade unions. The worst-affected were long-distance travelers as they were held up at bus stands for hours together.

Transport minister M R Vijayabaskar, however, claimed that 75 % of buses were plying.

But much of the intended chaos was prevented because the public were by and large prepared and tweaked their travel schedules, since buses stopped plying from Sunday evening. The fact that colleges and schools were on vacation also salvaged the situation to a large extent. Vacations eliminated the pressure from school and college-bound students, and it helped the government to rope in the school and college buses for public transportation. In Chennai, the strike cal led by various transport trade unions had little impact on intra-city travel. “We have prepared a list of 112 drivers from private schools and colleges to salvage the situation on Tuesday,'' said an official from the school education department. In Coimbatore, commuters had a smooth travel though 51% of the government buses stayed off road. Private buses stayed off road. Private buses, tourist buses and mini buses came to the rescue, but sought to exploit the situation by charging exorbitantly.“The ticket for Ooty was `125, more than double the usual `60,“ said M Pradeesh, a techie. In central districts though, 80% buses stayed off road, crippling public transport. The central bus stand in Trichy resembled a private bus terminal, with less than 20% of corporation buses operating on Monday . AITUC district general secretary A Mani said the strike had been 100% successful and the stir would intensify in the coming days.

The strike had a lower impact in Salem, the home district of chief minister Edappadi K Palaniswami. Trade union sources 850 of 1,929 buses in the district plied as usual. Most of the mofussil buses did not ply since Sunday night. However, authorities went into a fire-fighting mode and roped in private bus drivers and allowed them to operate their buses in any routes they desire, by issuing temporary permits.

Many travellers deferred journeys, resulting in the lesser crowding in the fewer buses that operated in the southern districts. Transport remained largely unaffected in Madurai city, where people mostly depend on share autorickshaws and minibuses.