CHENNAI: A surge in demand from the public has led the state transport department to start direct State Express Transport Corporation (SETC) buses from Thiruvottiyur in Chennai to Coimbatore and Rameswaram from Tuesday.
These buses will not touch CMBT and the Koyambedu-Vadapalani route and instead take the GST Road to reach National Highway-45.
Usually south-bound passengers from north Chennai board buses at CMBT but during weekends or festive seasons, seats are hard to find.
“By the time we (workers from industries in Thiruvottiyur) reach the bus stand after the day's work, most seats get occupied. So, we end up standing for half the journey,” said Sreenivasan, who works at a local tyre factory.
KP Shankar, DMK MLA from Thiruvottiyur saidthe two new bus services are in keeping with his party’s poll promise.
“More buses will be operated to Hosur, Tirupati and Kanyakumari,” he said.
These buses will halt at major transit points like Salem (en route to Coimbatore) and Trichy (Rameshwaram) so that passengers can get down and get a local bus to their respective villages or towns, said a SETC official.
New bus services have been revived in the city too. Metropolitan Transport Corporation, Chennai, has resumed bus services along four routes from Thiruvottiyur to Broadway (route number C56C), CMBT (15B Extension), Ambattur Industrial Estate (34) and Tambaram (1B) from Monday.
Services along these four routes were stopped in 2007 due to poor patronage and since then Thiruvottiyur residents depend on share autos or take multiple MTC buses to reach transit points or work.
Of the four services, buses to Broadway and CMBT will be run as ordinary services in which women can travel for free.
The other two are express and deluxe services.
