Less takers for govt run special buses

According to officials, the government decided to operate as many as 11,000 special buses from January 11 to 13 from CMBT and temporary bus stands in Anna Nagar (West), Tambaram, Saidapet and Poonamallee to ease the crowd. However, the officials were unable to operate such buses on January 11, as the transport workers were on a strike. Following the withdrawal of 8-day long strike on the same day, the department operated around 4,000 buses on January 12 and there was considerable crowd.

“We expected huge crowd on Saturday, but things were different. All the buses had to wait for passengers. So, more number of buses left the place with a few number of commuters.” said a time-keeper in CMBT. However, there might be more footfall during night, he hoped. The situation was similar in other temporary bus stands, he noted.

When contacted, a senior SETC official, seeking anonymity, said, “It is a fact that the number of passengers, opted for government mofussil buses, is low.”