Day 2: buses crowded, but distancing ignored

Coimbatore

On the first day on Monday, most of the buses ran empty with less than 50 per cent occupancy. In contrast, the passenger turnout was high and with lesser frequency, several buses plied to their full capacity on Tuesday.

With the bus crew remaining helpless and unable to handle the surge in crowd, the passengers journeyed sitting on all seats without following social distancing norms, particularly in private buses.

“It’s difficult to impose restrictions on the number of passengers boarding a bus by keeping the fleet services limited. Unless the entire fleet of buses is operated, it may not be possible to follow social distancing norms as people have been gradually returning to normal life,” said a conductor in Coimbatore.

The bus stands too remained crowded as people were forced to wait for longer hours due to lack of adequate bus services. In Tirupur, where about 197 buses were operated on Tuesday, the workers bound to areas like Mudalipalayam and SIDCO had a painstaking wait for a long while in Tirupur old bus stand due to lack of adequate services.

A TNSTC official said that the buses do not follow specified timings and are operated only if they get up to 60 per cent of occupancy. So people waiting for the bus at the earlier fixed time might have got disappointed, he said.

Similarly, in Erode, the passenger movement was high in town buses, while mofussil buses had only less occupancy. Officials said that the number of services was increased in Erode and Tirupur districts in the afternoon to meet the demand. Only passengers who wore masks were allowed to board.