Kilambakkam bus terminus
“In the last week of Sept, the ticket prices were 3500 to 4000 one way during the Ayudha Pooja weekend. 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. 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. 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.
At Kilambakkam bus terminus, officials said enough government buses were available as crowds grew. Passengers said they cancelled travel plans as private omni buses had jacked up ticket prices by fourfold. So I decided to stay back,” she said. Yet, seats were vacant,” he said. Helpdesks were also set up in Tambaram railway station and Chennai Central,” a railway official said. “We have a sufficient fleet to cater to the surging crowd,” the official said. 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. “But ECR was no better, as it took two hours to reach Kelambakkam,” she said.
But reaching the terminus was a challenge, with traffic backed up on GST Road and in Tambaram. Private bus fares remained steep despite recent reductions. Prarthana, an Ooty native working in Chennai, was one of those who cancelled her trip home during the Ayudha Pooja weekend. Fares to Coimbatore were too high. Listed fares, however, remained high. We instructed all our members to abide by the fares fixed by the association. By evening, the fares were back to normal rates. By 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. 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. Despite 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.
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. “Even on Friday morning, there were a few complaints.