Bad roads take toll on bus drivers

The drivers claim that due to bad roads and traffic, buses are unable to reach the depot on time

Hyderabad: Bad roads have been posing grave threats to not only the commuters, but the State-run Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (TSRTC) buses also. The bus drivers and conductors are forced to run the buses which are in bad shape and work extra hours due to traffic jams and bad road conditions.

Bus drivers claimed that most of the buses have been damaged severely and workshops do not have spare parts to replace the damaged parts. Due to heavy traffic in the city, RTC bus drivers and conductors are forced to work continuously without a 15-minute tea-break.

Bus driver Shankar said that when compared to earlier the road conditions have gone worse because of which buses are not able to reach the depot on time especially in the evening hours. He said though the duty time is for 7 and half hours, they work for extra hours due to bad road conditions.

“Due to traffic problem in the city we are not able to get a tea break in between working hours,” he added. Bus conductor Raj Shekhar said the city roads have been turning bad to worst due to which there are long traffic jams. The drivers are suffering with health issues due to long and continuous work hours.

He said working for extra hours is now become normaland added that many representations to the department fell on deaf ears.

Another bus driver P M Reddy said that because of the traffic jam and potholes on the city roads the RTC buses are not able to reach their destination on time.

He said that the depot managers gave instruction to reach depot on time, but because of the road condition they are not able to reach on time and also some of the buses have been severely damaged. He said the cleaning and maintenances of the buses was taken up before Dasara.