Commuters a harried lot as RTC puts a brake on minibus services

Hyderabad : Due to the suspension of mini bus services on various routes in the city, along with low frequency of buses, commuters are facing difficulties, especially regular commuters. They are struggling to commute due to the lack of buses and are forced to travel in shared auto-rickshaws, which have been banned by the city police.

Scores of people who commute daily on RTC buses are struggling with fewer and overcrowded buses. The mini buses, which used to run in by-lanes and small areas, have been suspended by the corporation. Shivangi, a student, complained that route number 37N was completely withdrawn a year ago by the TSRTC authorities. "I now use a shared auto-rickshaw to reach college and back. I am devoid of the concession student bus pass benefit which is provided by the government," she said.

Social media has been flooded with complaints regarding the low frequency of buses and discontinuation of mini bus services. Commuters are requesting the TSRTC and MD VC Sajjanar to introduce mini bus services in the twin cities and help save lives of citizens from overloaded shared autos. CS Chandrashekar, a resident of Sainikpuri, said, "There can be a huge revenue from this route, as earlier there used to be bus no 37, 37N, 37S, 24E which stopped running inside the Sainikpuri area and Defence colony. Students, employees, and senior citizens are the worst affected due to this." He added that due to the suspension of mini buses, commuters are forced to travel in banned overcrowded shared autos, which is endangering the lives of citizens.

Similarly, on various routes including colonies of Sainikpuri, Alwal, Kompally, Secunderabad, and other areas of the northeastern part of the city, commuters are using shared autos. "My earnings are low, and I used to have a bus pass to travel to work and back home every day. Now, I am spending more on travel and unable to save any money by traveling in shared autos," said Shaik Riyaz Ahmed, a resident of Borabanda.

Moreover, commuters in the southern part of the city are also badly affected as various routes have been suspended by the corporation. Route number 70, which passed through Shalibanda, Fateh Darwaza, Misrigunj, Shama Talkies, Kalapather, and ended at Teegalkunta of Nawab Sahab Kunta, covering a distance of 5 km, was suspended around 3 years ago, and the route is now taken over by shared autos.

The TSRTC withdrew bus number 178 from Charminar to Vattepally Nice Hotel, Roshan colony, Handicap colony, etc. Bus services on important routes in Yakutpura, Bagh-e-Jahara, Hassannagar, Pahadishareef, Aghapura, Mustaidpura, and other places were also withdrawn systematically. As per traffic regulations, each auto-rickshaw should accommodate only three persons plus the driver, but shared vehicles accommodate at least six people.It is said that the auto-rickshaws cannot compete with private cabs, and most of them are forced to operate as shared autos. However, shared autos are not only overloaded but also disturb traffic by illegally halting and parking on main roads.