The Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation’s (TNSTC) Coimbatore Division operated 504 inter-district mofussil buses from four districts on Monday.
A total of 154 buses were operated from Coimbatore district, 60 buses from the Nilgiris district, 160 buses from Erode district and 130 buses from Tiruppur district. These buses will cover Coimbatore, Tiruppur, Erode, Salem, the Nilgiris, Madurai, Tiruchi and Theni, according to TNSTC officials.
While inter-district bus services were briefly resumed in June, it was restricted within eight zones divided by the State government for transport services. Hence, the inter-district mofussil buses resumed services in full-fledged manner on Monday after March, the officials noted.
The State Express Transport Corporation (SETC) operated seven buses to Chennai and one bus to Villupuram from Coimbatore on Monday.
Officials said the SETC operated only non-AC Ultra Deluxe buses. Out of the 43 seats, passengers were allowed to occupy only 25 seats to maintain personal distancing norms. Depending on online bookings, more buses would be operated from Coimbatore, officials said.
Erode
While TNSTC, Erode Region, operated 150 mofussil buses, private bus operators kept off the roads. There are around 800 buses in 11 depots in the region and 150 buses were operated on Monday, apart from 120 town buses. Buses to Coimbatore, Tiruppur and Salem had over 60% occupancy. TNSTC officials said that buses were not operated to Karnataka and a decision on operating more buses would be taken after considering the patronage in the coming days. Private bus operators said they would resume services only if they were allowed to operate to full seating capacity and demanded road tax waiver.
Salem
The TNSTC operated over 700 inter-district buses in Salem on Monday, following all COVID-19 safety measures.
Officials said that buses were operated in various route depending on passenger demand. Close to 780 buses were operated from Salem and there was significant demand for buses to Erode, Dharmapuri and Coimbatore. Buses were are also operated to Chennai. Close to 900 buses would be operated from Tuesday.
