Chennai, Sept 29:
The Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporations have planned additional special buses across the State to meet the expected increase in passenger demand during the Gandhi Jayanti and weekend holidays from October 1 to 4.
Gandhi Jayanti falls on Friday, October 2, while October 1 is Thursday and October 3 and 4 are Saturday and Sunday. Transport authorities expect a large number of people to travel from Chennai to various parts of Tamil Nadu and return to the city after the four-day holiday period.
Accordingly, special buses will be operated in addition to the regular services.
From Chennai Kilambakkam, special buses will be operated to Tiruvannamalai, Tiruchy, Kumbakonam, Madurai, Tirunelveli, Nagercoil, Kanniyakumari, Thoothukudi, Coimbatore, Salem, Erode and Tiruppur.
A total of 1,580 special buses have been planned from Kilambakkam on October 1, followed by 745 buses on October 2 and 895 buses on October 3.
Additional services will also operate from Chennai Koyambedu to Nagapattinam, Velankanni, Hosur and Bengaluru. As many as 220 special buses will operate from Koyambedu on October 1, while 115 buses each have been planned on October 2 and 3.
Around 200 special buses will also operate from Bengaluru, Tiruppur, Erode and Coimbatore to various destinations based on passenger demand.
From Madhavaram, 185 special buses will operate on October 1. On October 2 and 3, 90 special buses each day will be operated to Kallakurichi, Tiruvannamalai, Tiruchy, Kumbakonam, Vellore, Hosur and Puducherry.
For passengers returning to Chennai and Bengaluru after the weekend, 1,471 special buses have been planned from various places on Sunday, October 4. The number of services may be increased depending on passenger demand.
Advance bookings have already begun to rise. According to the State Express Transport Corporation, 28,402 passengers had booked tickets for Thursday, October 1, 5,497 for Friday, October 2, 6,744 for Saturday, October 3 and 24,123 for Sunday, October 4, as of the time of the announcement. The numbers are expected to increase.
Transport authorities have urged passengers planning long-distance journeys to make advance reservations to avoid congestion and uncertainty at bus terminals.
Passengers can book tickets through the official TNSTC website and the TNSTC mobile application. Adequate officials have also been deployed at bus terminals to monitor the operation of the special services and assist passengers during the holiday rush.