According to an official release here, the Chief Minister flagged off the buses at a function held at the MTC central depot here.
'Jayalalithaa today launched 28 new buses and 28 new routes for Metropolitan Transport Corporation, three buses and two routes for State Express Transport Corporation, 169 buses and 70 routes for Villupuram Government Transport Corporation, 137 buses and 45 routes for Salem Transport Corporation, 174 buses and 55 routes for Coimbatore Transport Corporation, 69 buses and equal number of routes for Kumbakonam Transport Corporation, 10 buses and equal number of routes for Madurai Transport Corporation, 85 buses and seven routes for Tirunelveli Transport Corporation,' said the release.
With this induction of new buses, the total number of buses operated by State owned transport corporations in Tamilnadu has touched 20,500.
The statement expressed hope that these buses and routes would fulfil the transport needs of the people of Tamilnadu.
To improve the services and provide passengers better vehicles, the Chief Minister had ordered the purchase of new buses.
Earlier in September, Jayalalithaa inaugurated 22 new bus routes and flagged off 38 new buses introduced by Tamilnadu State Transport Corporation to replace as many numbers of old buses in Tirupur region via videoconferencing.
In April this year, the Chief Minister announced that the government would spend nearly Rs 540 crore to purchase 3,000 new buses for the passengers and introduced 464 State buses including 389 new ones for various routes in the state.
Currently, there are eight transport corporations operating under the State Transport Department, making up one of the largest transport services in India. Nearly 2.10-crore passengers use these buses across the State.
In Chennai itself, 55-lakh passengers use the Metropolitan Transport Corporation (MTC) services. These Corporations run bus services to States like Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala and Puducherry.
.GIF)
