EPS raps govt for reducing bus services, Transport Min denies charges

CHENNAI: Leader of Opposition and AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami on Friday slammed the DMK government for not procuring new buses to improve bus services since it came to power.

He came down heavily for reducing the fleet of government buses, particularly in rural pockets of the state, after announcing free bus travel for women.

Citing shortage of drivers, the transport corporation did not assign duties to conductors in the last few days. It added to the state government’s earlier announcement that operation of private buses in Chennai. “These developments sow the seed of doubts among the people that the government is indulging in such tricks to privatise the government bus services,” EPS said in a statement.

Dismissing Palaniswami’s charges, Transport Minister SS Sivasankar said that the DMK did not stop even a single bus after coming to power and blamed the previous government for stopping operation of buses in 2,000 routes.

“Buses were not stopped anywhere in the state. It happened during the previous EPS government due to the non-recruitment of the drivers and conductors in the last five years of the AIADMK government. This led to drivers and conductors shortage. EPS government stopped operation in 2,000 bus routes, but wrongly blamed COVID for it,” he said, in a statement.