State buses run after 2 months, violation of safety norms rampant

State buses run after 2 months, violation of safety norms rampant

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Trichy/ Madurai/ Coimbatore:  08.09.2020

After two months, Tamil Nadu State transport Corporation (TNSTC) across the state resumed inter-district bus operations much to the relief of people commuting between districts for work. Simultaneously, State Express Transport Corporation (SETC) resumed long-distance bus services connecting only Chennai from rest of the districts. While only 60% of the seating capacity was meant to be filled, complaints surfaced about social distancing violations in the state-run buses.

With about 930 buses in TNSTC Trichy region, TNSTC officials said that they were diverting available buses to routes on demand. The absence of private fleets on road is likely to favour TNSTC to fill the seats at least during peak hours. “We have not fixed any cap in operating the fleets. Based on the need, we regulate the available buses. Social distancing, facemask and sanitisation are being ensured in all our fleets,” a manager with TNSTC Trichy said. Buses bound to Thanjavur, Salem and Madurai from Trichy Central bus stand witnessed significant patronage. Social distancing, although ensured during the commencement of the journey, was hardly maintained during intermediary stops. “Trichy-Perambalur mofussil bus halted at almost all the bus stops in between. Passengers were jam-packed and some didn’t even wear facemasks,” R Kannan, a passenger from Srirangam, said.