Commuters heaved a sigh of relief with the strike by transport unions, which literally paralysed the State for over a week, being called off and the situation easing back to normality on Friday.
The strike was on the verge of spoiling the travel plans of several thousands of long distance commuters heading home for the Pongal festival. However, with the trade unions calling off the strike on Thursday night, the officials of the State Transport Corporations(STCs) have gone ahead with their plans of operating around 12,000 services.
A senior official of the Metropolitan Transport Corporation (MTC) said normal bus services were resumed from 5 a.m. onwards and 3,200 buses were operated on Friday.
CMBT active again
The Chennai Mofussil Bus Terminus (CMBT) in Koyambedu, which wore a deserted look during the strike, came back to life, with thousands of people thronging it.
The State Transport department had set up a help desk and put in place elaborate security measures. The STCs are operating buses from five bus termini — CMBT, Anna Nagar (West), Saidapet Court bus stop, Tamabaram Sanatorium and Poonamallee — by segregating the routes bound for various places in the State and Andhra Pradesh.
Special link buses
A senior MTC official said special link buses were being operated from CMBT to the four bus termini to help the commuters to reach the particular bus stop for boarding long distance buses. Special announcements were being made regularly at the CMBT about the boarding points for the long distance buses, he added.
R. Ashokan, a resident of Avadi, who was waiting to board a bus to Salem, said the State Transport Corporation authorities had made good arrangements by operating several buses for those travelling to the districts, especially since prior booking was not possible this time.
A senior official of the State Express Transport Corporation (SETC) said from January 11 to 13, a total of 1,500 buses would be operated to various parts of the State.
The eight STCs would be operating close to 12,000 buses for three days comprising 3,071 (January 11), 4,255 (January 12), and 4,657 (January 13).
For the convenience of commuters returning from their home towns, the STCs would operate 7,841 special buses between January 15 and 17, with 3,770 services to be operated from various parts of the State towards the city.
