The rush to get home to vote continued even a day before polling, as residents made last minute trips to vote. In some places such as Pollachi, passengers resorted to protests as bus to Valparai didn't turn up for more than 3 hours.
A TNSTC official said they had expected huge crowds on Friday night and had arranged for 139 extra mofussil buses that would make trips to Trichy, Madurai, Theni, Salem, Tirupur and other cities. "We thought most people would travel on Friday night. We were surprised to see the crowd on Saturday night and Sunday morning as well," said the official.
At Pollachi, 150 natives of Valparai, had travelled from various districts such as Theni and Madurai. "Generally there are 50 buses to Valparai. But since we anticipated more crowds from other districts, some buses had been diverted. , and we had to arrange for a driver and conductor. This resulted in some delay and passengers staged a protest," said the official.
The district has 794 mofussil buses and 1181 town buses.
An additional 139 buses were arranged and many town buses were used as mofussil buses as well. All drivers and conductors had to do double shifts. to manage the crowds.
On the other hand, the bus fare for private transport companies shot up by 150% even for normal buses. The AC and other semi-sleeper buses became unaffordable, said a travel agent, Ashish Kante. "Many of my clients wanted tickets from Bangalore and Chennai to come to Coimbatore but the mad rush did not die down even on Saturday and Sunday. The cost of the tickets skyrocketed on Sunday," he said.
Some commuters who had anticipated such rush said they travelled comfortably in trains as they had booked their tickets several weeks ago. "I had booked my tickets when the election dates were announced and so I did not have to struggle much," said a commuter.
TNSTC officials said that they had made necessary arrangements. to meet the demand. "We have made arrangements and we are sure that such protests would not take place on Monday," said the official.
A TNSTC official said they had expected huge crowds on Friday night and had arranged for 139 extra mofussil buses that would make trips to Trichy, Madurai, Theni, Salem, Tirupur and other cities. "We thought most people would travel on Friday night. We were surprised to see the crowd on Saturday night and Sunday morning as well," said the official.
At Pollachi, 150 natives of Valparai, had travelled from various districts such as Theni and Madurai. "Generally there are 50 buses to Valparai. But since we anticipated more crowds from other districts, some buses had been diverted. , and we had to arrange for a driver and conductor. This resulted in some delay and passengers staged a protest," said the official.
The district has 794 mofussil buses and 1181 town buses.
An additional 139 buses were arranged and many town buses were used as mofussil buses as well. All drivers and conductors had to do double shifts. to manage the crowds.
On the other hand, the bus fare for private transport companies shot up by 150% even for normal buses. The AC and other semi-sleeper buses became unaffordable, said a travel agent, Ashish Kante. "Many of my clients wanted tickets from Bangalore and Chennai to come to Coimbatore but the mad rush did not die down even on Saturday and Sunday. The cost of the tickets skyrocketed on Sunday," he said.
Some commuters who had anticipated such rush said they travelled comfortably in trains as they had booked their tickets several weeks ago. "I had booked my tickets when the election dates were announced and so I did not have to struggle much," said a commuter.
TNSTC officials said that they had made necessary arrangements. to meet the demand. "We have made arrangements and we are sure that such protests would not take place on Monday," said the official.