Movement of buses to the Singanallur Bus Stand and those parked opposite the stand are among a host of factors affecting movement of vehicles near the bus stand. Their impact is at its peak at times of festivities when the bus movement goes up more than two fold.
Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation (TNSTC) officials said that on an average 400 buses frequent the bus stand everyday. Singanallur bus stand has three gates, including two (one each for entry and exit) on Kamaraj Road. The other gate on the nearby side road is used occasionally.
But, buses use both the in and out gate for two-way vehicle movement. This affects entry and exit of buses at the bus stand. At times, buses queue up on the road, blocking vehicle movement on Kamaraj Road. While this affects vehicle movement for a few minutes, it worsens when around 1,000 buses are operated from the bus stand during festivals.
TNSTC officials said that the congestion has gone up since the Tirupur buses were diverted from Gandhipuram Bus Stand, for the flyover construction on Dr. Nanjappa Road. “If buses to Tirupur are diverted to Gandhipuram, vehicle movement at Singanallur Bus Stand will come down by over 25 per cent,” an official said.
Buses don’t use the gate on the side road to enter the bus stand as it cannot accommodate two-way vehicle movement. With two Tasmac outlets and bars on the narrow side road, customers to the outlets park their bikes on the middle of the road. Drivers and conductors said that this road could be used if the road is made one-way – with no vehicles entering the road from Kamarajar Road.
Vehicles from residential localities behind the bus stand could use a road behind the stand to reach Kamarajar Road and Trichy Road. Shifting the bus stop opposite the bus stand would make a difference in decongesting the road as buses wait there for a few minutes to pick up passengers.
On the other hand, buses stopping at the bus stop near the bus stand entrance also leave vehicles waiting behind them as the road is narrow. In addition, presence of autorickshaws, tourist taxis at the bus stand entrance, omni buses and other tourist vehicles waiting for customers worsen traffic later in the day.
Traders and commuters felt that police presence would make a big difference in decongesting the stretch. The East Sub- Division traffic police are trying to ensure smooth flow of vehicles at that stretch by deploying manpower. They also added that they were holding discussions with TNSTC officials, private bus operators and other stake holders to workout a solution for the issue.