Nearly 25k special buses to be operated this Pongal

The buses bound for Kancheepuram, Cheyyar, Arcot, Arani, Vellore, Tirupathur, Hosur and Dharmapuri would be operated from Poonamallee bus stand. Similarly, buses bound for Uthukottai, Kalahasthi, Tirupati, Nellore and towards Andhra Pradesh would be operated from Madhavaram bus stand.

“This year, we are expecting around six lakh passengers to avail the special service. Last season, the transport workers strike coincided with the festival season, leading to a dip in the number of passengers travelling on transport corporation buses,” said MR Vijayabhaskar, the State Transport Minister.

Special arrangement would also be made to facilitate return journey of passengers to Chennai and across the State, the minister said, adding that a meeting would be convened on January 2 to review the special arrangements.

This season, 14,263 buses would be operated from the city for a period of four days – during the last festival season, 11,651 buses were operated for three days. Across the State, 20,125 buses were operated across the State to cater to the demand last year. In all, 4.92 lakh passengers travelled in the last season of which a little over 2 lakh passengers had booked their tickets in advance.