CHENNAI: Thousands of people leaving the city to their native places to cast their vote in the State Assembly polls were left stranded due to inadequate bus services and gridlocked traffic on Chennai Bypass, GST Road and East Coast Road on Wednesday night until early hours of Thursday morning.
Such was the chaos on the road that it took more than five hours to reach Kalaignar Centenary Bus Terminus in Kilambakkam from Koyambedu, a journey that usually takes only a little above an hour.
At the Kilambakkam bus terminus, passenger crowds surged late into the night, especially for routes to northern districts. Officials had initially deployed more buses for southern, central and western districts, leaving services to nearby northern districts inadequate.
Caught off guard due to the sudden surge of passengers heading to Villupuram, Tiruvannamalai, Kallakurichi, and Cuddalore districts, transport department officials scurried to mobilise hundreds of buses from private schools and colleges in suburban Chennai to manage the situation.
These vehicles were stationed at a facility near Tambaram and Mudichur that had remained unused for over a year. Drivers from these institutions operated the buses, while government conductors handled ticketing and passenger boarding.
When asked, officials blamed the heavy traffic congestion, which resulted in the buses reaching Kilambakkam after a long delay, that in turn led to overcrowding.
Heavy traffic congestion on national highways caused vehicles to crawl throughout the night, delaying travel for several passengers, many of whom reached their destinations only after 10 am on Thursday. The delays affected voters attempting to reach polling stations on time.
Tambaram railway station also witnessed heavy overcrowding, with passengers boarding trains in unsafe conditions. Compartments, including reserved and first-class coaches, were packed beyond capacity, with many travelling by standing at the doors.
Traffic congestion on the Chennai–Tiruchy National Highway and East Coast Road brought vehicular movement to a near standstill.
According to official data, from April 21 to April 23, a total of 10,169 regular and special buses were operated. Government express transport buses carried 6.27 lakh passengers, including 69,383 reserved travellers. Additionally, around 3.5 lakh passengers travelled in 6,000 omnibuses on 9,000 trips.
In total, nearly 10 lakh people travelled from Chennai to their native places on 16,000 buses. In the heart of Chennai, meanwhile, the massive outbound movement resulted in major roads appearing unusually deserted.
Assembly polls 2026:
10,169 buses
6.27 lakh passengers
Lok Sabha polls 2024:
7299 buses
4.03 lakh passengers