Following the COVID-19 lockdown relaxation, the Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation (TNSTC) operated buses for the public on Tuesday.
The TNSTC Coimbatore Division operated 800 buses in four districts - Coimbatore (401), Erode (153), Tiruppur (142) and the Nilgiris district (104). These, including town buses and intra-district mofussil buses, were only 30% of the total fleet.
“It will be better for the commuters if the number of buses is increased,” said P. Radhakrishnan, a resident of R.S. Puram who took the 7C route bus to Gandhi Park on Tuesday. However, TNSTC officials said that the number of buses would be increased or decreased depending on the patronage.
While most of the town buses in Coimbatore were sparsely occupied, with less than 10 passengers, a few TNSTC buses that plied on Trichy Road had full occupancy and did not adhere to the mandatory physical distancing norms. An official said that the occupancy should be only 60 % (around 30 passengers) in each bus and action would be taken to prevent overcrowding.
President of the Coimbatore District Bus Owners’ Association (South) V. Duraikannan said that out of the 330 private buses only 12 were operated in the district on Tuesday. Prohibition on inter-district bus travel and 60% occupancy were not financially viable, he said. “Most of the private bus operators are afraid to resume services because they feel that they cannot restrict the number of passengers boarding the bus,” he claimed.
The TNSTC Erode Division operated 130 town buses and 45 mofussil buses on Tuesday. The buses were disinfected and commuters were told to wear masks. Only a few passengers turned up at the Corporation’s Central Bus Stand in Erode. Since the buses were operated only after a minimum of 20 passengers boarded them, it affected the travel plans of many commuters.
A number of commuters found it difficult to reach Pallipalayam in Namakkal district, which is four km from Erode, as town buses were operated only till Karungalpalayam. “We had to walk for two km and board an autorickshaw to reach our destination,” said a daily wage earner M. Alagesan. While most of the buses were sparsely occupied, a few town and mofussil buses saw over 70% occupancy.
A few shops on the Erode bus stand premises were opened, but business was poor as commuter turnout was less. TNSTC officials said that patronage was good in the evening and expected more people to use the services in the coming days. No private buses were operated in the district.
In the Nilgiris district, buses were operated with standard operating procedures in place. Passengers were told to ensure physical distancing and wear masks.
The TNSTC Dharmapuri division operated less than 30% of its fleet strength on Tuesday in order to gauge the commuter traffic. At the Krishnagiri bus stand, buses bound for Hosur and Uthangarai had very little occupancy. Dharmapuri division that includes mofussil and town depots of Krishnagiri, Hosur and Dharmapuri had planned to operate 285 buses of the total fleet strength of 950. This had envisioned 30% of the buses from each depot. However, the number of buses was far less from the town depots as the passenger traffic was negligible.