The officials of the Transport and Road Safety Commissionerate undertook surprise inspections of omni-bus stands in and around the city to prevent bus operators from fleecing passengers proceeding to their native places on Thursday night.

In view of the Independence Day celebrations, the State Transport Department operated special buses from the city to various parts of the State.

A senior official of the South zone of the Joint Transport Commissioner said even as the special buses were announced by the State Transport Undertakings (STUs), people started posting complaints on social media and to the Regional Transport Officers (RTOs) about the bus operators planning to charge extra fares on the eve of Independence Day.

A team of RTOs from Meenambakkam, Tambaram, and Chengalpattu, along with motor vehicle inspectors (MVIs) and other officials, inspected more than 150 omni-buses at the Kilambakkam bus terminus on Thursday night. The surprise inspection was planned at night as omni buses are usually operated in large numbers at night, an official said.

During the inspection, in addition to penalising omni-buses that overcharged passengers, the officials also found vehicles that had evaded road tax and those that transported heavy luggage on the roof.

A senior official of the Meenambakkam RTO said fines totalling ₹1,26,000 were imposed on 18 vehicles, and one bus was even impounded. A senior official of the Meenambakkam RTO said though no fare rates had been fixed, the officials enquired with the passengers who had booked seats in the omni-buses – which are permitted to operate as contract carriers – to compare the prices with those charged during their previous rides, and the fares charged on Friday. The officials made the omni-bus operators refund the extra amount charged.

In the north zone, RTOs, along with MVIs, carried out an inspection of omni-bus terminals in Koyambedu and Madhavaram. At the Porur and Red Hills toll plazas, 17 buses were found to overcharge passengers. A fine of nearly ₹3 lakh was collected from the offenders. Overall, 35 buses were fined.

The State Transport Department operated a total of 3,252 buses during the three days, starting from August 13 to 15, with 1,160 special buses operated along with 2,092 regular buses. More than 3 lakh passengers were transported in these buses.