With 90 per cent of the TNSTC buses off the road today due to the strike by employees, commuters faced lot of hardship in Coimbatore and neighbouring districts of Tirupur and Nilgiris.

Though nearly 25 per cent of the buses came out of depots in the early hours, their numbers gradually fell, leaving commuters stranded. The impact worsened by afternoon with the shift of ruling party-affiliated unions coming to close, police said.

However, private buses, including mini-buses, plied as usual,with some charging higher rates, though bus owners denied it.

A section of auto rickshaws had a heyday, charging exorbitantly, police said. The bus stands in Gandhipuram, Singanallur, Ukkadam and Mettupalayam in the city looked deserted. Coimbatore District Collector TN Hariharan along with Police Commissioner Periaiah visited the bus depots in the city and monitored the bus movement.

A similar situation prevailed in Tirupur and Nilgiris, police said.

However, in nearby Salem, 85 per cent of the buses plied, leaving normal life unaffected, official sources said.