Tamil Nadu State Transport Undertakings will operate more than 3,400 special buses from Chennai, Coimbatore, Bengaluru, Tiruppur and other cities between October 9 and 11 to manage the expected travel surge for Mahalaya Amavasya and the weekend holiday period, according to a report by Dinamalar.
Mahalaya Amavasya will be observed on Saturday, October 10. Transport authorities expect large numbers of passengers to travel to their hometowns and temples, prompting additional services alongside the regular bus schedule.
From the Kilambakkam bus terminus in Chennai, 1,075 special buses will operate on October 9 to destinations including Tiruvannamalai, Tiruchirappalli, Kumbakonam, Madurai, Tirunelveli, Nagercoil, Kanniyakumari, Thoothukudi, Coimbatore, Salem and Tiruppur. A further 845 buses are planned from Kilambakkam on October 10.
The Chennai CMBT at Koyambedu will operate 210 special buses on October 9 and 180 on October 10 to Nagapattinam, Velankanni, Hosur and Bengaluru. Madhavaram will run 145 special buses on each of the two days to Kallakurichi, Tiruvannamalai, Tiruchirappalli, Kumbakonam, Vellore, Hosur and Puducherry.
The transport authorities have also planned 200 special buses from Bengaluru, Tiruppur, Erode and Coimbatore to several destinations. On October 11, 875 special buses will be operated to help passengers return to Chennai and Bengaluru after the holiday.
The deployment covers the main travel flows expected during the period: outbound services from Chennai before the observance, additional connections from western Tamil Nadu and Bengaluru, and return services after the weekend. The separate services from Kilambakkam, Koyambedu and Madhavaram also reflect the continued use of multiple city termini for long-distance bus operations.
Advance reservations reported by the transport authorities stood at 8,708 passengers for October 9, 3,950 for October 10 and 7,480 for October 11. Passengers can book tickets through the official TNSTC website, www.tnstc.in, and the TNSTC mobile application.
The special services are scheduled for October 9, 10 and 11, with the largest return arrangement planned for October 11. The transport authorities’ stated objective is to provide additional capacity during the holiday travel window while regular services continue.
