Representatives of the striking transport corporation employees’ unions claimed that safety of commuters was under risk as buses owned by various corporations had not undergone regular maintenance since the strike began on Thursday.
“Every night a team of technical staff carries out repair works in buses in each depot. This is mandatory to ensure that the buses do not break down, and more importantly the journey of passengers is safe,” said M. Velladurai, general secretary, CITU (Transport), Virudhunagar.
Stating that all technical staff were on strike, he alleged that temporarily-recruited drivers were taking a risk as they did not know technical details specific to each bus.
He said not all those having a heavy vehicle licence (passenger vehicles) could operate TNSTC buses as they had different types of gearboxes and clutches.
Mr. Velladurai also said that drivers should also have thorough knowledge of the routes and bus stops.
