Coimbatore: Even two months after the state government relaxed lockdown norms and allowed resumption of bus services, they get less than 50% of passengers, bus operators said.
While town buses resumed operations from September 1, interdistrict buses were operated from September 7.
On Wednesday, the Coimbatore division of the Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation (TNSTC) operated 1,682 out of the 2,600 buses in Coimbatore, Nilgiris, Erode and Tirupur districts, including 616 town buses and 1,066 mofussil buses.
Only 345 town buses and 184 mofussil buses were operated in Coimbatore district, a TNSTC official said. “There was a good number of passengers during the peak hours. When the passenger count starts to decrease, some of the buses would be sent to the depots. The buses are operated based on the requirement and we have been increasing the number gradually.”
There was a slight increase in the passenger count since Sunday due to Diwali, said M Velankanni Raj, general secretary of the Coimbatore unit of CITU. “Even then, it is nowhere near the pre-lockdown era. Most of the mofussil buses are half-empty. There might be a slight increase in the count a couple of days ahead of Diwali,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Coimbatore division submitted a letter to the state government, seeking approval to operate some buses during the festival season.
“Special buses would be useful only for those who travel a longer distance and could not afford private vehicles. Most of the people are accustomed to using private vehicles for short travels. It is really difficult to bring them back,” said V Duraikannan, president of the Coimbatore district bus owners’ association. “Passenger count in town buses is just 20 to 35% of previous year’s count and it is 35 to 40% in case of mofussil buses.”
Even the Southern Railway is finding it difficult to attract passengers, an official said. “We have been operating 25 trains from and via Coimbatore. The percentage of passengers in Coimbatore is less than 50% of the pre-lockdown era. Only for certain trains scheduled ahead of Diwali, seats were filled and booking was closed.”
Meanwhile, the Southern Railway has announced five one-way trains – one from Coimbatore and four via Coimbatore, on Wednesday.