Excess passengers refuse to get down, crowd buses

Excess passengers refuse to get down, crowd buses

TNN | Jun 5, 2020, 04.56 AM IST

Tirunelveli: The buses heading from Papanasam, Tenkasi and Tuticorin to Tirunelveli are overcrowded in the morning and return trips in the evening even though the social distancing norms to prevent Covid-19 requires that only 60% seats should be occupied and nobody should be standing in the buses.

TNSTC drivers and conductors are facing the ire as passengers are picking quarrels with them when they ask the excess passengers to get down. “We have requested the superintendent of police of Tirunelveli district on Thursday to help us manage the crowd in select routes,” managing director of TNSTC Tirunelveli, P Thiruvampalam Pillai told TOI.

On Wednesday, buses were too crowded with some even clinging on to footboards. TNSTC officials said that most of the violators are government employees.

A daily commuter from Tenkasi to Tirunelveli said that only six buses were operated during the peak hour in the morning. It includes three point-to-point buses that take 90 to 95 minutes and three regular buses that take 120 minutes to reach the destination. “Frequency of direct buses should be increased,” Kumar, 42, a commuter said.

Pillai said Tirunelveli division operated 451 buses on Tuesday, 579 on Wednesday and 615 on Thursday.