Chennai, Nov 5:
With an estimated six lakh commuters expected to leave Chennai daily ahead of Deepavali, the Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation (TNSTC) and state transport authorities have mobilised a massive fleet of 15,659 buses between November 5 and 7, pairing unprecedented transit capacity with strict anti-fleecing crackdowns.
The operations comprise 6,573 regular services and 9,086 special buses across key corridors, with over 85,000 passengers already locking in advance online reservations.
On Thursday alone, 5,061 buses—including 2,191 regular services, 2,316 specials, and 554 contract vehicles—were dispatched from Chennai.
At the Kalaignar Centenary Bus Terminus (KCBT) in Kilambakkam, authorities set up 10 dedicated advance booking counters, helpdesks, and round-the-clock MTC feeder shuttles linking Koyambedu and Maraimalai Nagar, alongside satellite boarding bays near the CMDA Climate Park to decongest the Tambaram–Perungalathur bottlenecks.
Simultaneously, Coimbatore launched 2,895 special buses operating across Singanallur, Sulur, Gandhipuram, Ukkadam, and Pollachi.
To curb exorbitant fares by private omni bus operators, departures in Coimbatore were shifted exclusively to Codissia Grounds, while transport authorities deployed 10 RTO-led flying squads on round-the-clock patrol, issuing dedicated complaint helplines (1800 425 6151, 149, 94450 14436, and WhatsApp 93848 08333) for passengers.