After trains, buses are the next best choice for people in Coimbatore where road congestion makes vehicles move at snail pace, especially during peak hours, and their numbers add to confusion.

Town buses remain the main mode of transport and ply with two numbers 20A and 90A, the former connecting Gandhipuram with Somanur and the latter Ukkadam with Somanur. But these two numbers for a bus can be confusing passengers new to the place. The name boards are equally confusing in what is termed as `air bus. While on the front glass is the list of places and the number similar to what is there on the side window panes, the digital board of a town bus has a number different from what is there on the front glass pane.

Social activist A Manoj says, “The confusion with the buses having two numbers needs to be rectified as they ply for passengers and not to confuse them. There has to be a single number for a bus. A person new to the place should never get confused.”

Asked about this, a TNSTC official told The Covai Post the `easiest’ way out: “It is for passengers to enquire with the bus driver or conductor about the route for that particular bus. If one boards a wrong bus, he or she can alight at the nearest bus stop and take another bus to the destination.” It is not for the TNSTC Bus depot Branch Manager Karthick says, “The buses with two numbers are only for the convenience of passengers and only a few of them ply and that too during peak hours. Arrangements are made to `hide’ these numbers to avoid confusion. The buses can be changed to any route in emergency situations.”

On how many buses have two numbers in the City, he says, “The number cannot be given correctly because any buses can be changed to any route according the requirement and emergency.”