Nearly three weeks after the operation of buses were allowed in Coimbatore district as part of the COVID-19 lockdown relaxations, the Coimbatore Division of Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation (TNSTC) operates 775 buses out of its total fleet of 1,012 buses in the district.
Officials said on Tuesday that the 775 buses comprise 466 town buses and 309 mofussil buses. On July 5, the TNSTC Coimbatore Division operated 535 town and mofussil buses following the lockdown relaxations and added 240 more buses in these three weeks.
However, despite the apparent increase in the number of buses, the TNSTC officials said the patronage has only increased marginally for the town and mofussil buses.
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Regarding the government’s scheme of free travel for women in ordinary town buses, the number of women availing the scheme in Coimbatore Corporation limits remain at around 1.1 lakh to 1.4 lakh a day despite the increase in number of ordinary town buses from 260 to 300 buses.
Out of the 466 town buses that are currently being operated, 166 are deluxe ‘red’ buses that do not come under this scheme, officials said.
Following the recent controversy involving a Coimbatore-Tiruppur TNSTC mofussil bus conductor allegedly using his saliva to issue tickets, all conductors have been instructed to ensure hygienic practices inside the buses, the TNSTC officials added.
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Officials from the State Express Transport Corporation (SETC) said that around 50 buses were being operated from Coimbatore to various locations across the State and the air-conditioned buses were not being operated. The demand for SETC buses to locations in southern districts such as Nagercoil and Kanniyakumari were relatively higher than other locations in the State, according to the officials.