The state transport department has taken serious action against private Omni buses for overcharging for the first time in recent years. Excess fare has been refunded to most of the affected passengers.
Ahead of the puja holidays, private omni buses yet again increased the fares from Chennai to other parts of the state by 30% to 50%. For instance, travelling to Madurai from the capital city cost up to INR 2,500 per head.
The government had earlier said that it is not in a position to fix fares for these buses. So, buses, which left from Koyambedu bus terminus late in the evening, charged even more as demand soared.
Based on complaints to helpline numbers and on social media sites, the transport department formed special teams and booked cases against 1,715 buses and seized 112 buses.
Among them, many had not paid taxes on time. So, the government imposed additional fines against them and in the last three days they managed to collect over INR 31.8 lakh from the offenders, said transport officials.
Besides this, the owners of the 112 seized vehicles were made to refund the ticket amount to passengers who had booked tickets with their travel firms. In a few cases, the excess fare was also returned to passengers.
The government on its behalf had operated additional special buses to clear the extra rush at Koyambedu and other transit hubs in Chennai. Over three lakh passengers had left the city (till Sunday morning) in 5,660 buses, according to official data.
