Long-distance buses leave early, demand shoots up for trains, flights

Long-distance buses leave early, demand shoots up for trains, flights

Ram Sundaram & Deepak Karthik TNN

Chennai/Trichy:  21.04.2021

Long-distance government buses began leaving the Chennai Mofussil Bus Terminus in Koyambedu from 4.30am on Tuesday, when the new restrictions kicked in, to ensure they reached their destinations before night curfew came into effect at10pm.

The last bus to southern districts of Tirunelveli, Nagercoil or Tuticorin left before 8am, while there was not a single State Express Transport Corporation (SETC) bus to Coimbatore after 10.30am. Against the 300 SETC buses that are operated from Chennai, just160 left CMBT on Tuesday, according to official data.

Passenger footfalls dropped sharply, with barely 15-20 seats occupied in every bus. Rajesh, a SETC conductor, said, “Besides the fear of Covid-19, excess heat is also a factor which deters many passengers from taking morning buses to faraway places.”

The situation was no different in districts like Trichy, Madurai or Salem, with several buses taken back to depots as there were not enough passengers.

Amid this, contradictory statements about operation of private buses belonging to two major associations left passengers confused. While one claimed services have been put on hold, the other claimed around 400 buses were operated.

Mohammed Afzal, president of Tamil Nadu Omni Bus Owners Association, said 20% of the 2,500 private buses in the state will continue be made available for public in the morning hours following government guidelines.

Ticket fares were halved for A/C buses, but there were not many takers. R Balakrishnan, a bus operator from Trichy, said that passengers were scared about what would happen if the buses reached late and they were stuck at the bus stand without transport to their houses. “Also, not many are keen on sacrificing one full day of their leave/holidays on travel,” he said.

The state government is yet to respond to bus operators' request to allow limited services at night. As a result, demand for morning trains shot up. Non A/C seats and sleeper class tickets got filled for travelling between Chennai and Trichy, Madurai and Coimbatore. Almost 60% of A/C seats on trains for commute in the coming days were also filled.

NOT MANY TAKERS: A view of the deserted Chennai Mofussil Bus Terminus, Koyambedu, on Tuesday. Ticket fares were halved for A/C buses, but there were not many takers