Hyderabad: As mercury rises, commuters clamour for more air conditioned RTC buses

Hyderabad : With the temperatures rising, passengers in the city are turning to air-conditioned RTC buses to beat the heat. However, the Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (TSRTC) has been running low-frequency AC buses in Greater Hyderabad, causing difficulties for passengers who are urging the corporation to increase the number of AC buses available. The soaring heat has led to a surge in the number of passengers travelling on AC buses. As the scorching heat leaves passengers with no other option to travel in public transport, the demand for AC buses has risen.

While most of the AC buses are packed, the number of students and other passengers has also increased in recent months. Passengers feel that the fares of Rs 15 and Rs 20 are justified given the comfort provided by AC buses.

"Unfortunately, the TSRTC has stopped running AC buses on various routes, making it difficult for regular users who are feeling suffocated in non-AC buses due to the scorching heat", said Shivam, a regular passenger.

A social activist, M Dayanand, has called upon the corporation to increase the number of AC buses on city routes, as there are currently only 100 buses available, and they are constantly full.

He said that the corporation is running hardly 100 AC buses in the city and these buses are bustling with passengers. The corporation must increase the AC buses on city routes. "With people are using more AC buses by shelling out extra money for a cool journey, the corporation may face enough revenue by providing more buses", added Dayanand.

"During day it is inconvenient to travel in a regular bus but was forced to board a non-AC regular bus after waiting for a long time at the bus stop to catch the AC bus," said Shaik Amjad, a passenger at Ameerpet.

As temperatures continue to rise, commuters are willing to pay extra for a cool and comfortable journey. However, with the lack of AC buses, the city dwellers are also preferring to travel through the metro to reach their destinations. Footfall in the metro across the network has been increasing on most days due to the sweltering heat. Passengers have also taken to social media to urge the corporation to increase the number of AC buses in the city.