CHENNAI: Anticipating a surge in passenger traffic during the upcoming long holiday weekend covering Ugadi (Telugu New Year) on March 19 and Ramzan on March 21, the State Express Transport Corporation (SETC) and other State transport undertakings will operate special bus services from Chennai and other cities across Tamil Nadu.
Considering the expected increase in travel, the SETC said transport corporations have planned to operate special buses in addition to the regular daily services.
From the Kilambakkam bus terminus, 450 special buses will be operated on Wednesday and 345 on Thursday to destinations including Tiruvannamalai, Tiruchi, Kumbakonam, Madurai, Tirunelveli, Nagercoil, Kanniyakumari, Thoothukudi, Coimbatore, Salem, Erode and Tiruppur.
From the Koyambedu bus terminus, 100 special buses will be operated on Wednesday and 90 on Thursday to Tiruvannamalai, Nagapattinam, Velankanni, Hosur and Bengaluru.
In addition, 200 special buses will be operated from cities including Bengaluru, Tiruppur, Erode and Coimbatore to various destinations. From Madhavaram, 24 special buses will be operated on March 18 and March 19.
To facilitate the return of passengers to Chennai and Bengaluru after the holidays, 565 special buses will be operated from various places on Sunday.
According to the transport corporation, 22,768 passengers have booked tickets for Wednesday, 6,034 for Thursday, 8,575 for Friday, 4,139 for Saturday and 19,888 for Sunday. The number is expected to increase further.
Passengers undertaking long-distance travel have been advised to book tickets in advance through the website www.tnstc.in or the mobile application to avoid last-minute crowding.
Officials have also been deployed at bus terminals to monitor the operation of special bus services during the holiday period.