Separate bus departure points for a smooth Deepavali holiday travel

CHENNAI: To avoid traffic congestion for three days starting October 15 in view of Deepavali, the Transport department has split the departure points of select long-distance buses. The buses will start from Anna Nagar West, Tambaram Sanatorium, Saidapet Court, CMBT and Poonamallee.

A Transport department press release, on Friday, said that as many as 4,820 special buses will be operated from Chennai to various places in the State. This is in addition to the 2,275 scheduled services operated daily. Put together, a total of 11,645 buses will be run during the three days.

The release mentioned steps taken during Deepavali last year and Pongal this year would be repeated now. Consequently, authorities have split the departure points of select long distance buses (see box).

In order to reduce the traffic burden on the city roads, buses starting from CMBT will be operated via Maduravoyal, Outer Ring road and Vandalur.

Since it has been observed that the stretch between Tambaram and Perungalathur is often choked with vehicles, reserved passengers with boarding points at these two locations have been requested to board the buses at Urapakkam instead.

The press release also said special reservation counters will be opened at CMBT (26 counters), Tambaram Sanatorium (2) and Poonamallee (1). These counters will function from October 13. Passengers can also book their tickets online at www.tnstc.in A dedicated number (044-24794709) for public enquiry and complaints will also be made operational.

Buses scheduled for Oct 15 to 17
Anna Nagar West - Buses to Andhra Pradesh via Red Hills (including those operated by APSRTC)
Saidapet Court - Buses to Puducherry, Cuddalore and Chidambaram, via ECR
Tambaram Sanatorium - Buses to Kumbakonam and Thanjavur, via Tindivanam, Vikravandi and Panruti
Poonamallee - Buses to Vellore, Dharmapuri, Tirupattur and Hosur