TSRTC unions smell conspiracy to blindside transporters

​Hyderabad: While the Transportation Department is contemplating to bring common tickets for Metro Rail, MMTS, RTC and other modes, the RTC Union leaders see this as a conspiracy to decrease the routes of Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (TSRTC) and limit the corporation as second fiddle to Metro.

The Task Force formed by the government to provide last mile connectivity to the citizens, came up with an idea of introducing common ticketing facility by including all the modes of transport in the city. Transport Principal Secretary Sunil Sharma said that the RTC had no competition with the Metro Rail and the routes would be rationalised and more concentration would be on providing last mile connectivity.

However, the TSRTC unions see conspiracy behind the move as they allege that it was an attempt to discourage the RTC in the city. A union leader said that the government with an aim to promote Metro Rail was discouraging RTC, the most admired transport facility by the people. “People of the city still prefer RTC buses over the Metro Rail and the officials now seem to have decided to shift the passengers of RTC to Metro,” the union leader alleged.

Metro Rail MD N V S Reddy, following the Task Force review meeting held on July 10 at Bus Bhavan, had said that the RTC has its own popularity and the people were getting used to Metro. “If the buses are closed for one day, entire city goes standstill and people go for their individual vehicles. The RTC routes will be rationalised for last mile connectivity,” HMR MD said.

The Greater Hyderabad zone of RTC carries 33 lakh passengers every day in the city with its fleet of over 3,000 buses. With authorities deciding to rationalise the routes, the union leaders said that the RTC would be limited to playing second fiddle. The leaders said that the RTC would be limited to running feeder buses. 

The leaders pointed out that the HMR authorities had said that the RTC would get priority in running the feeder buses. The leaders wanted the government to maintain the routes of RTC and have other plans for running the feeder buses.