More than 350 additional long-distance buses for Diwali
Tamil Nadu Transport Corporation,
Coimbatore plans to operate more than 350 additional buses on long
routes to accommodate the rise in number of passengers plying to various
places on the occasion of Diwali.
According to a senior transport official, the spare buses would be deployed along with the regular service. The corporation will operate 100 buses to Salem, 120 buses to Tiruchy, 40 buses to Ooty, 150 buses to Madurai, he said. The service would begin five days before Diwali and end five days after the festival.
"Train services are inadequate and omni buses charge excessive fares. As most south bound travelers are from lower and middle income groups working in textile units and foundries in Coimbatore, it is our duty to serve them by deploying more public transport vehicles," said a senior transport official.
All south-bound buses will be operated from the Singanallur bus stand. Arrangements have already been made to ensure that every five minutes a bus leaves from Singanallur to Madurai and Trichy. No advance booking will be available in these routes.
Meanwhile, buses bound for Hosur, Bangalore and Chennai will be operated from the Thiruvalluvar bus stand at Gandhipuram. According to TNSTC officials, at least 20,000 passengers travel by buses every day during the festival season. Eight percent of them are bound for Madurai and Trichy.
The corporation has planned to deploy adequate policemen in each bus stand to manage the crowds. Queue system will be arranged at each bus stand. Reservation counters in the city will be open to the public from 8 am to 9 pm on all days.
According to a senior transport official, the spare buses would be deployed along with the regular service. The corporation will operate 100 buses to Salem, 120 buses to Tiruchy, 40 buses to Ooty, 150 buses to Madurai, he said. The service would begin five days before Diwali and end five days after the festival.
"Train services are inadequate and omni buses charge excessive fares. As most south bound travelers are from lower and middle income groups working in textile units and foundries in Coimbatore, it is our duty to serve them by deploying more public transport vehicles," said a senior transport official.
All south-bound buses will be operated from the Singanallur bus stand. Arrangements have already been made to ensure that every five minutes a bus leaves from Singanallur to Madurai and Trichy. No advance booking will be available in these routes.
Meanwhile, buses bound for Hosur, Bangalore and Chennai will be operated from the Thiruvalluvar bus stand at Gandhipuram. According to TNSTC officials, at least 20,000 passengers travel by buses every day during the festival season. Eight percent of them are bound for Madurai and Trichy.
The corporation has planned to deploy adequate policemen in each bus stand to manage the crowds. Queue system will be arranged at each bus stand. Reservation counters in the city will be open to the public from 8 am to 9 pm on all days.
