Madurai Bus system- Far more than you ever wanted to know

For most people, irrespective of their nationality, Madurai is quite
unfathomable when it comes to its bus transport network. Madurai,
being what it is, is more like a sprawling neighbourhood, albeit badly
planned. More likely, designed in parts, by drunken draftsmen. The
only place where one can intuitively figure out the layout is the
Temple complex and the surrounding streets of Chitrai, Maistry/Masi, Avani
and Veli which are arranged in concentric squares and labelled
according to the compass directions. So, North Veli Street is exactly
that, the outermost street from the Temple North Tower.

But this is about the bus network. I shall outline the ways you can
reach Madurai from other cities and the means to shuttle from one
bus-stand to the other.

In their infinite wisdom, the present day town planners have decreed
thus; since Madurai city cannot handle an ever increasing number of
vehicles, there shall be bus-stands in different points of the compass
to handle the incoming traffic. So we have[1]

a) Palanganatham bus-stand to handle south bound traffic
b) Arapalayam bus-stand to handle west & north-west bound traffic
c) Mattu Thavani[2] bus-stand to handle East and North-east bound traffic
d) Anna bus-stand to handle city traffic
e) Periyar bus-stand to handle city as well as private service buses

Hence, if you wanted to go to Tirunelveli,Kanyakumari, make for
Palanganatham; Theni, Bangalore, Coimbatore, Salem et al Arapalayam;
Trichy, Tanjore, Pudukottai, Karaikudi, head for Mattu Thavani. It
pays to have a rough idea of the general direction of towns in South
India with respect to Madurai!

Unless otherwise stated, the intra-city bus-stand is

a) adjacent to the above list
b) it is the intra-city bus-stand
c) or just a long series of bus shelters next to the inter-city bus-stand.

All this sounds quite logical, doesn't it? OK, now these are the
quirks you should be aware of. Periyar bus-stand is very close to
Railway station, say about 200m, so don't get ripped off by flagging
an auto for a 5 minute walk. Periyar bus-stand itself is split into 2
by a main road, so it's actually two bus-stands. Coming from the
Railway station end and past the church, most of the time you'd need
to enter the right hand half. Go in there if you want to make your
way to Arapalayam or Anna / Mattu Thavani bus-stand. Because of the
one way system in force(still?) the right one handles city buses going
west and north while the left one handles the south and east. This
means that to go to Tirupparankundram rock cut temple, you go to the
left bus-stand and wait for buses going towards Palanganatham and
Thirumangalam.

Sometimes, it's easier to take the buses than taking an auto/Taxi.
going to Azhagar Koil say, is easier by town buses than by taking a
Taxi. From Periyar, taking buses which go towards 'Arasradi' will
taking you within a Km of Arapalayam if you miss those buses marked
7,7A which swing by Arapalayam before going on to Anna bus-stand.
Similarly buses going towards Tirupparankundram, Thirumangalam will
have to pass by Palanganatham bus-stand though it will drop you on the
main road & not inside the bus-stand. You'll have to walk about 200m
to get to the bus-stand. Keeping on the left shoulder of the road,
you might be lucky enough to flag down the Kanyakumari/ Tirunelveli
bus which has just left the bus-stand. The drivers usually oblige,
you of course have to pay the fare.

There are 3 bus shelters(lanes?) inside the Periyar bus-stand. The
first lane handles buses going towards 'Simmakal' and past the Vaigai
river bridge. The second lane handles buses towards the west and
north-west and the last lane handles long distance city buses(heading
towards villages) like Azhagar Koil and west bound places again. The
South & East bound traffic is handled in the left half of Periyar
bus-stand across the main road.

Arapalayam bus-stand is more of a inter-city bus-stand than one for
city buses. So you'll find it more of a transit point as far as local
buses go i.e. more likely Arapalayam is one of the bus-stops on its
way to another destination. Palanganatham is slightly better off in
that there is a bus shelter there shared by both local and long
distance operators. Anna bus-stand too had shared facilities but
with the new Mattu Thavani bus-stand, its size belies its use.

I really don't want to go into specific buses by which you can make
your way about as these are wont to re-routed and most likely there's
a good likelihood that you'd get into the correct numbered but heading
in the opposite direction. Some rules of thumb are (from a Periyar
bus-stand perspective), to go to Arapalayam, you WILL have to cross
the overbridge across the railway Station. Similarly, Anna bus-stand
is across the river , so you WILL have to cross a bridge across the
Vaigai. Lastly for Palanganatham, you will immediately go over an
overbridge overlooking a college football/cricket field. Failing to
see these landmarks means in all probability you're heading in the
opposite direction of where you thought the name board of the bus
stated.

As for the private bus services, they've been pretty badly hit after
new trains have been introduced from Madurai to various places
especially Madras. Now, the procedure is to book your ticket and then
turn up at the written time on the ticket. If you ask for 'KPN
travels' or 'Hotel Aarthy' in Periyar bus-stand, the road on which
they are located you will find a dozen Travel companies operating bus
services to different cities like Ernakulam & Bangalore. Use them when
you can't get a train ticket. Beware, they contain the works; music,
video and loud speakers but the drivers are pretty safe, if thats any
consolation.

In all this, the following caveats apply. The service has grown
hugely. Some services to outer villages will always be crowded
whatever the time. Jump in. There is a time keeper office where
they're invariably polite in answering all your queries. Lots of them
are not comfortable with English but will be more than happy to show
you how to get to different places provided you ask nicely. Failing
which, ask the well dressed chap waiting for the bus, he'll help. The
above are not hard & fast rules about where the buses should and will
be; in it's own psychotic way, it will change suddenly.

And you can always throw in the towel and just take an Auto.


Footnotes:
[1] Don't even try to pronounce them, just go by the name board, if
you're lucky to see it in English, that is

[2] This is the new bus-stand which handles the inter-city buses
formerly handled in Anna bus-stand.

--

Where should go for kumily buses/thekkady buses.how much does a semi deluxe bus take from chennai(starts at 9 pm)to reach madurai.how is travel time from madurai to kumili/thekkady.

what is the typical fare for buses from Madurai to Kodaikanal? I was hoping to take a basic governmental bus there.

Congratulations on figuring out anything about the Madurai bus system. I have been living in Madurai for 2 months and am loving the quirks. The bus system definitely represents the kookiness of the city. At worst, the buses are confusing, poorly numbered, and the information providers at the station can't keep their routes straight. The good news though is that whenever I find myself on the wrong bus the fare collectors generally point me in the right direction and don't charge me.

here's a list of Madurai local buses,

http://www.madurai.com/busone.html

I bow down before the infinite patience and tenacity of anyone who can figure out an Indian urban bus system. Wow. I am in awe. And I mean that.

Anyone traveling a lot in Tamil Nadu may find it beneficial to learn the Tamil letters for A, T, P, K, R, and N, since most place names in Tamil Nadu start with these six letters. That can help you narrow down your bus, or at least figure out if it might be the right Bus No. 34, or whatever. Of course, the system isn't perfect, but it at least reduces your chances of being completely wrong and ending up in "Chinnakuppam." Of course, I usually get on the bus shouting, "Tirunelveli!" or wherever I'm going, to see if people react strangely or not. However, if you're not used to hearing Tamil place names pronounced correctly, this might not work well, as suggested above.

Why aren't the signs in multiple languages? That's a long story. In short, it's because that's the way the Dravida Munnetra Kazhigam wants it. You don't question such things in Tamil Nadu. Personally, I don't mind, it's part of what makes the state quirky and different.

Another bus trick is what I call "shoe method," which is - when totally at your wits' end - to ask directions from a guy wearing Western-style shoes. Chances are, especially in southern Tamil Nadu, that if he's an odd enough bird to shell out for shoes, and actually wear them, he probably can speak English - at least enough to help you find your bus.

hi,
guide me madurai to thekkedy bus route time table volvo available.how many hours ?

rupesh

three buses are available from madurai to thekkady. travel time 4 1/2 hours.i dont think there are volvo buses plying.the bus i took is tamilanadu govt bus (decent enough) which started around 10-11 am.there might be private buses too.

Dear santos,
thank you. i like your reply.

Rupesh

Hi i am planning to go to madhurai this week end
booked a bus to tirunalveli
ill reach tirunalveli this friday 20th march 09
i like to see meenakshi temple
are there any other temples or places of intrest in madhurai which i can cover up in 1 day
as i have time constatint as i have to return back to tirunalveli the same day (and dont want to take risk like travelling back late night as i am going alone)
so can any one suggest me how to go to madhurai from tirunalveli lets say i start from tirunalveli at 10:00 am
at what time i can reach madhurai
how abou rush in the meenakshi temple as it is friday?
and what r the other places that i can cover near by..
and what r the buses i can take up to go to those places
please help me as fast as possible...
i can manage with tamil
i dont know to read tamil but can understand and can manage to speak

are there any places near tirunalveli to see or any places in tirunalveli..

@Sindhbad,

There are lot of places nearer to Tirunelveli and it depends on your interests !.

Shortly :-

1) Wildlife / Scenic Places:-
You can try out Kalakkadu / Mundanthurai Tiger Sanctuary.
You can try out Thiruneveli - Punalur Via Tenkasi for Hilly scenic Drive [ From Puliyarai to Punalur this is ghat road] and you could explore Thenmala [Eco-tourism project of Kerala before Punalur]

2)Temples:-

Nellaiyyappar temple , Sankarankovil temple, Shrivilliputhur temple ,Tenkasi Viswanathar temple ,Courtallam Temple

3) Waterfalls:-

Courtallam and due to the recent rains ,water flow is there in the falls currently !

4) Off-the-track:-

Hire a Cab from Senkottai and try to visit Thenmala/ Pala Aruvi[Forest Waterfalls of Kerala ]

And so on .. If you could tell your interests I can share more info !


Hope this helps
Velu

that is a very nice piece of information
as i am planing to go in the week end and that too one day to madhurai and one day to tirunalveli
can u tell me which are the imp places taht we can cover up in one day in each place
as sunday i ill be returning back
and can u tell me how to go to madhurai from tirunalveli.and in madhurai what r the places i.e, most imp places where i can spend some good time (i know only meenakshi amman temple)any othe than that temple?and how to go around in madhurai and the constraint is that i have to start from tirunalveli and returnback the same day (as i am travelling alone i dont want to take risk of late night travelling and stuff)

and also tell me about tirunalveli what i can visit(the best places)in one day i.e, only near by places
please give me the safe and economic means of travelling...
and also give me detailed information..so that i can directly follow ur advice with out further enqury..

thank u very much ur fast and informative responce

I am sorry but I am not able to understand how much time you have in Madurai and tirunelveli. And how can you return back to Bangalore on the second Day as you are telling you don't want night travel too !.

Do you mean , Friday night you will start from Bangalore an reach Madurai on Saturday morning and would start the return journey from Tirunelveli on Sunday night ?

Anyways, In Madurai, you can Visit Meenakshi amman temple,Thirumalai Nayakkar Mahal, Tirupparankudram temple [City buses are available].

In Tirunelvei , Except Nellaiyyapar temple, nothing much is there in the city itself. You could travel to Tiruchendur by bus [Temple / Beach 1 1/2 hours journey - Buses are frequent] OR you could travel to Tenkasi [Temple / Waterfalls 1 1/2 journey by bus from Tirunelveli and buses are frequent].

If you have only 2 Days that's what could be covered provided you travel on Friday night [To] and travel back on Sunday night [Return].

Hope this helps
Velu

yes let me tell u clearly
i am travelling to tirunalveli this thursday night and in the morning i reach there i have my hotel booked there
so ill fresh up and go to site seeing in tirunalveli the next day(day2) i ill go to madurai as i have hotel booked in tirunalveli ill come back to tirunalveli (day2 night) as i dont have any bus reserved and even i dont know the route i want to go to tiunalveli(reach the hotel) as early as possible..ok the reason for booking hotel in tirunal veli is that one of my friend is getting married on a nearby small village...so booked a hotel in tirunalveli and want to spend some time in the places near bye before marriage....
i think now u understood..
can u tell me how much time it takes to go from tirunalveli to madurai..