Chennai, Oct 14 (IANS) Tamil Nadu’s transport department will operate 6,199 special bus services from Chennai for the puja holidays and 9,086 additional trips for Diwali to meet the festival rush, Transport Minister A. Vijay Tamilan Parthiban said in a statement.
The puja special services will run from October 15 to 18, while the additional Diwali services will operate from November 5 to 7. Temporary bus stands will be set up at Maraimalai Nagar and on vacant land near Climate Park in Kilambakkam to accommodate passengers and facilitate departures.
With 2,191 buses operating daily from Chennai, the department will provide 8,764 regular trips during the four-day puja holiday period. Combined with the special services, the total number of trips will reach 14,963, the minister said.
For Diwali, the department has planned 6,573 regular trips over three days. The addition of 9,086 special services will bring the total to 15,659 trips, providing capacity for passengers travelling from the city to their hometowns.
Services will be distributed among the terminals and temporary facilities. Buses bound for Kumbakonam, Thanjavur and Nagapattinam will depart from Maraimalai Nagar. Those heading to Puducherry, Erode, Dindigul and Tiruvannamalai will operate from the temporary bus stand near Kilambakkam.
Buses serving the southern districts will continue to depart from the Kilambakkam bus terminus. Operations at Koyambedu and Madhavaram will continue as usual, Parthiban said.
The department will also make arrangements for passengers returning to Chennai after the festival holidays.
The minister said a meeting would be held with omnibus operators to regulate fares and streamline services during the festival season.
The discussions will address operations during a period when demand for travel rises sharply as passengers leave Chennai for the holidays.
The Southern Railway has been requested to run additional unreserved trains to other cities to support the increased passenger movement.
The department has also sought additional suburban train services to help travellers reach Kilambakkam and connect with buses departing from the terminus and nearby temporary facilities.
MTC managing director Jayaseelan said free shuttle services would operate between Kilambakkam and the temporary bus stand at Madhavaram.
The shuttle arrangement, alongside the proposed additional train services, forms part of the transport measures announced for the festival period, when regular services will be supplemented by thousands of additional departures from Chennai across holiday schedules.
–IANS
aal/dpb
