Commuters ordeal forces bus crew to accept old notes

“I travelled in a TNSTC bus to Thanjavur on Friday night from Chennai and the conductor accepted Rs 500 and provided remaining amount. But, things took an ugly turn, when I took another TNSTC bus to Madurai. The conductor in the beginning started announcing that he would not take either Rs 500 or Rs 1,000,” said M Shanmugam, a native of Madurai and who works in a hotel in the city. He added that he contacted one of his friends and asked him to bring change after which he travelled to Madurai. Shanmugam reached back Chennai by train. 

Similarly, A Kamalanathan, who travelled to Chennai from Tiruchy in an SETC bus said that though the conductor insisted him to give change instead of Rs 1,000, he refused to relent. “I know that the transport corporation accepts old notes as I travelled to Coimbatore on November 11 and the conductor gave change for Rs 500 and Rs 1000. When I argued this with the conductor on the Tiruchy bus, he murmured and accepted the note,” he said. 

Meanwhile, most of the commuters who went by bus to various destinations before the withdrawal of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes preferred to return by train thinking that bus conductors would not accept the old notes. “I have gone to Coimbatore in a bus and when I reached the terminus next day, there was confusion among the passengers, who asked conductors whether they would accept Rs 500 and Rs 1000 for fare.  As the conductor replied in the negative, I rushed to railway station,” said A Rajendran, a medical representative.  

Anandha Padhmanabhan, Managing Director, SETC, said that they had already instructed the crew to accept Rs 500 and Rs 1000 till November 13 night. “However, we will decide whether the conductors can accept the old notes from November 14 onwards after getting instruction from our higher officials,” he said. A Anbazhagan, secretary, All Omni Bus Owners and Operators Association, said that they were accepting Rs 500 and Rs 1000 from the bus passengers.