Bus services of the Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation (TNSTC) which had been suspended in the State since the enforcement of the lockdown resumed in zone 4 in the central region on Monday morning.
The Central Bus Stand in Tiruchi city saw commuters from other districts in zone IV - Nagapattinam, Thanjavur, Tiruvarur, Ariyalur, Perambalur and Pudukottai travelling for work. City buses too, began plying to the relief of commuters who had been depending on private vehicles and auto rickshaws.
In a meeting at the Central Bus Stand before resumption of services, senior officials of the TNSTC instructed drivers and conductors to ensure they wear facemasks and gloves at all times.
They were also asked to ensure that all passengers wear masks for the entire duration of the journey. Buses in the district will ply from 5 a.m. to 9 p.m.
At the Central Bus Stand, a counter has been created at each of the three platforms where a staff member checked the body temperature of travellers using a thermal gun. Following the check, they were allowed to board the buses.
Conductors offered hand sanitiser to the passengers as they entered. On three-seaters, the middle seat was required to be left empty while on two-seaters, only person was allowed to sit.
A wash basin was made available with a soap dispenser for the use of bus drivers and conductors at the bus stand. Drivers were also required to ensure that the buses were disinfected at the end of each trip. The TNSTC has made arrangements to provide Zinc and Vitamin tablets to all employees to increase immunity, an official said.
Speaking to The Hindu, a TNSTC officer at the Central Bus Stand said that by 10 a.m. on Monday morning, at least four buses each had departed to Nagapattinam, Thanjavur, Tiruvarur, Ariyalur, Perambalur and Pudukottai in the zone.
A fleet of 330 buses, including city buses and mofussil buses were operated on Monday. Only 50% seats were allowed to be occupied. At the end of the day, the passenger footfall was lesser than expected, a senior official of the TNSTC said. “Most buses departed with only 20% of the seats being occupied. Hopefully number of passengers will increase,†he said.
Many unaware of e-pass
Buses to Karur district, which has been included in Zone I also began plying. However, many passengers and officials were not aware of the need for an e-pass to travel to the district in a different zone. "We were not told to check for any e-passes. Did the government not say that passes are not required?" a conductor on a Karur bus asked.
Most passengers aboard the Karur bus were employees headed to work in the district. “My employer asked us to come to work from today after over two months. Since the buses are plying, we are back to work,†a passenger said.
S. Jayanthi, another passenger who had been stranded in Tiruchi while visiting her mother boarded the bus to return to her hometown in Karur. “I came to the bus stand only to check if there were buses to Karur. Since it is plying, I’m headed for home now,†she said.
In Ariyalur district, 90 buses were operated to the six districts in the zone - Nagapattinam, Thanjavur, Tiruvarur, Tiruchi, Perambalur and Pudukottai. About180 drivers and conductors were called for duty to operate the buses on Monday. All have been given Vitamin tablets, Zinc tablets and kabasura kudineer to boost immunity.
Buses were operated to Erode, Coimbatore and other centres in zone 1 from Karur. Public transport services resumed in Pudukottai district with 192 buses being operated on Monday. The buses were run with 60% of passengers. Collector P. Uma Maheswari inspected the resumption of the public transport services at the new bus stand in the town. Passengers wearing mask were alone permitted to travel.
Bus services of the State Transport Corporation, Kumbakonam, resumed with 50% of the fleet hitting the roads at Thanjavur and Tiruvarur districts.
According to official sources, buses from the STC depots in the district were sanitised at the bus stands too before the passengers were allowed to board the vehicles.
The passengers were also screened for COVID-19 symptoms before boarding the buses.
While the commuter patronage for intra-district and inter-districts services in the Zone remained at the optimum level, not much of passengers could be seen in the town services operated by the Corporation in the two districts.