Chennai: Inflated private bus fares, packed railway stations and crawling traffic confronted passengers leaving Chennai on Friday, as arrangements by the transport department, railways and police did little to ease the familiar holiday ordeal. At Kilambakkam bus terminus, officials said enough government buses were available as crowds grew. But reaching the terminus was a challenge, with traffic backed up on GST Road and in Tambaram.Fleecing by pvt buses Private bus fares remained steep despite recent reductions. Passengers said they cancelled travel plans as private omni buses had jacked up ticket prices by fourfold. Prarthana, an Ooty native working in Chennai, was one of those who cancelled her trip home during the Ayudha Pooja weekend. “In the last week of Sept, the ticket prices were 3500 to 4000 one way during the Ayudha Pooja weekend. Fares to Coimbatore were too high. So I decided to stay back,” she said.When many passengers complained about high ticket prices on social media, All Omni Bus Owners Association president K Anbalagan said the association identified 22 buses charging excess fares and secured refunds for passengers. Listed fares, however, remained high. One-way tickets from Chennai to Ooty had dropped from Rs 3,500–4,000 a few days earlier to Rs 2,500–3,300. Fares to Kodaikanal had fallen from a peak of Rs 4,999 to around Rs 2,500. Tickets to several southern districts also cost about Rs 2,500. “Even on Friday morning, there were a few complaints. We instructed all our members to abide by the fares fixed by the association. By evening, the fares were back to normal rates. Yet, seats were vacant,” he said.Crowds pack railway stationsBy then, high bus fares pushed many passengers towards trains, adding to the crowds at Tambaram railway station. Chennai Central also saw large numbers of passengers waiting to board unreserved compartments on northbound trains. “They were allowed to board the trains in a regulated manner. Helpdesks were also set up in Tambaram railway station and Chennai Central,” a railway official said.Calm at KilambakkamThis time, the state transport dept seemed to have expected this. They operated mofussil buses from several points around the city and crowds at Kalaignar Centenary Bus Terminus in Kilambakkam built up gradually through Friday evening.A transport official said 68,000 passengers had left the city on 1,777 government buses by 6 p.m. Another 1,058 buses were available, besides those returning from other destinations. “We have a sufficient fleet to cater to the surging crowd,” the official said. Temporary boarding points were set up near Kilambakkam climate park and at Maraimalai Nagar, the latter for buses travelling via Kumbakonam. Special feeder services connected the terminus to both locations. Santosh Swaminthan, a private engineering college student from Kumbakonam, said he had reached Kilambakkam to take the free feeder service to Maraimalai Nagar.V Malathi, the terminus’s chief administrative officer, said BSNL and Airtel had installed temporary towers after passengers faced poor mobile connectivity during the Vinayakar Chathurthi holiday rush. “We have also placed more than 500 chairs in the atrium for passengers to relax and board buses,” she said.Road blocks remainDespite the arrangements, getting to Kilambakkam remained difficult as traffic crawled on GST Road and through Tambaram. R Priya, who was travelling to Puducherry, switched to East Coast Road to avoid the congestion in Tambaram. “But ECR was no better, as it took two hours to reach Kelambakkam,” she said.(With inputs from Venkadesan S, Tejon Mayam and Ramesh Shankar)
