Conductor-less buses on Tiruchi-Salem route

The Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation (TNSTC) has started operating conductor-less buses between Tiruchi and Salem.

While five conductor-less buses were being operated since Friday, four more were pressed into service on Saturday.

The four conductor-less buses on the route were among the six new buses flagged off in the city on Saturday by State Ministers Vellamandi N. Natarajan and S. Valarmathi in the presence of P.Kumar and T.Rathinavel, MPs and K. Rajamani, Collector.

A senior TNSTC official said that the introduction of the service has proved an instant hit as several passengers preferred it as the travel duration comes down by nearly an hour. “The buses reach the destination either way in three hours, which is at least 45 minutes lesser than a normal service. The buses will not halt anywhere between the two cities. The fares are same and hence there is good patronage,” a senior official of the TNSTC told The Hindu . The conductor-less services are also expected to improve efficiency and reduce operational costs.

According to the officials, 100 new buses would be inducted into the TNSTC fleet in Tiruchi region during the current financial year. Ten of them were among the 515 new buses flagged off by Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami on Chennai recently. TNSTC, Kumbakonam division, comprises the Tiruchi, Pudukottai, Karaikudi, Kumbakonam, Nagapattinam and Karur regions.

New buses of TNSTC, Kumbakonam Division, were also flagged off in Nagapattinam and Kumbakonam on Saturday. R. Doraikkannu, Minister for Agriculture, flagged off three buses to Tiruchi, Madurai and Sathyamangalam in Kumbakonam and O.S.Manian, Minister for Handlooms and Textiles, flagged of new buses on Vedaranyam-Tiruchendur and Mayiladuthurai-Salem routes at Nagapattinam New Bus Stand.

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