Following the announcement of State government on allowing operation of buses, the Coimbatore Division of Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation (TNSTC) said that 1,019 town and mofussil buses will be operated in four districts from Monday.

According to the officials, only 50 % of the total fleet of buses will be operated as per the government directions. The 1,019 buses will comprise 375 buses in Coimbatore Zone, 148 buses in Udhagamandalam Zone, 299 buses in Erode Zone and 197 buses in Tiruppur Zone.

On the precautions to be taken, the TNSTC said the passengers will be allowed to enter these buses only if they wear masks, officials said. All drivers and conductors will be wearing masks and gloves.

The conductors will also provide hand sanitisers to the passengers inside the buses. The buses will be disinfected after completing every trip. The passengers are also advised to board the buses from the back entrance and exit from the front entrance.

In an effort to maintain personal distancing, only 20 passengers will be allowed per town bus and 31 passengers will be allowed per mofussil bus.

The buses will run from 5 a.m. to 9 p.m. every day. All the bus terminuses will be disinfected every day jointly with local body authorities. On Sunday, Coimbatore Corporation workers disinfected the Central Bus Terminus premises in Gandhipuram.

The State government divided the districts into eight zones for transport services on Sunday. Coimbatore, the Nilgiris, Erode, Tiruppur, Karur, Salem and Namakkal falls into the first zone, which includes all the four districts under TNSTC Coimbatore Division.

The buses will operate within these districts in the first zone and also between the districts in the zone. E-passes are not required for travel within each of these eight zones.

SALEM

The Salem division of Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation will resume regular operations following relaxations offered by governments.

The Salem division of TNSTC includes Salem and Dharmapuri zones and about 1,900 buses are operated here. About 1,010 buses will operated in the division from within the zones prescribed by the State government. According to officials, 397 buses will be operated in Salem, 162 in Namakkal, 208 in Dharmapuri and 243 in Krishnagiri.

Senior officials from TNSTC said that buses from Salem will be operated only to Coimbatore, Nilgiris, Erode, Tiruppur, Karur and Namakkal. In Dharmapuri zone, buses will be operated to Vellore, Tirupathur, Ranipet and Krishnagiri, officials said.

Air-conditioned buses will not be operated and the middle seat in three-seaters will be left empty and only one person will be allowed to sit in two-seaters.