TSRTC turns ‘travel as you like’ transporter for women

Hyderabad: Following the free ride for women in State-run buses, the women are taking advantage of the ride and are boarding and de-boarding the bus wherever they want leading in obstruction of vehicular traffic on roads with many drivers stopping the buses in the middle of roads to let women get down from the bus.

Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (TSRTC) operated buses are now obstructing the traffic with many of its drivers stopping the vehicles on the middle of the road on their women passenger’s request. It has been observed that the bus drivers are stopping the bus where women asked them to stop causing huge inconvenience to the passengers seated in the bus and also the traffic, which is leading to road congestion, and which may also lead to any untoward incident.

Srinivas Babu, a commuter said, on the middle of the road at Somajiguda which is one of the busiest roads in the city, the bus driver stopped the bus and a group of women de-boarded the bus, which leads to the traffic congestion. “The women are using the free bus service ride as a sharing auto-rickshaw.

They board the bus and get down as per their convenience, and others are troubled. The TSRTC corporation authorities must take note on the issue to carry the free bus service without any hurdles to others,” added Srinivas.

Moreover, the bus drivers are stopping the bus where the women gave hand signals to drivers and were seen getting down where they are convenient. At Malakpet, the bus moving on the right side of the road suddenly moved to the left side instantaneously, after the driver stopped the bus, five women passengers deboarded the bus. Muzammil Khan, a commuter said, it was stopped dangerously in the middle of the road and blocking the way of other motorists resulting in traffic jams.

“At least a dozen other vehicles on the back of the bus faced snags,” he added.

Some pointed out that the drivers and conductors alone cannot be blamed for these problems. The TSRTC effectively requires an effort to solve such issues on the road during the free ride scheme. “It is true that drivers do make mistakes, but TSRTC puts them under immense pressure following the scheme, as it is related to women,” pointed out Asif Hussain, a local activist.

A senior officer at TSRTC said, to manage huge crowds in bus stops, the corporation had made a necessary arrangement to ensure order and safety for passengers, especially women. “The corporation will look into the matter and instruct the drivers as well as women passengers about the guidelines related to the free bus travel scheme,” said an officer.