Polling day travel spikes demand for SETC buses from Chennai

Trichy: Ticket bookings on State Export Transport Corporation (SETC) are witnessing a spike for next week, as many people working in Chennai are making plans to visit their native places to vote in the election on April 23, and the long weekend that follows.Except for a few normal services, tickets for premium services between Chennai and Trichy have been booked completely for the night before the polling day."All five buses by SETC between Chennai and Thuraiyur are full for the day before polling. Many working in Chennai have their votes in native villages. Musiri is also an assembly constituency, but lacks night services from Chennai. This situation may affect voter turnout," N Saravanan, a Thuraiyur resident, said. With buses from Chennai to Trichy KKBT fully booked on April 22, between 6pm and 12am, residents of other small towns who rely on Trichy as a transit feel they will be heavily hit. "We will be having a working day on Wednesday (April 22), and cannot leave the city before 6pm. Night bus services are required to plan our travel to cast votes," S Haja Mohamed, a native of Thuvakudi working in Tambaram, said. Even tickets for Madurai- and Tuticorin-bound SETC buses from Chennai were sold out for the night before the polling day, making people rely on private buses with higher fares. "Bookings for SETC buses are in high demand for both April 21 and 22. Since all our drivers and conductors will get a postal ballot facility to cast votes, we will operate additional buses to clear the rush before the polling day," a senior SETC official told TOI.