Female students ditch share autos for free bus rides

Hyderabad: The student community, especially female students, is elated lot with the Maha Lakshmi free bus scheme implemented by the state government, as they can save money on travel and many aspirants hope to reduce the financial burden on families for studying in far-flung places.

Around 8,000 buses are playing in the state, on which free travel can be availed.

The fanfare that started at the weekend due to the scheme's implementation continued well into Monday, with many students of engineering and professional courses opting for buses instead of share autos.

Increased footfall of female students was also observed at bus stops across the city.

A group of students, Hemasree, Tejasree, Manasa, Dikshitha, and Sneha, students of Railway Junior College, availed of the free travel on Monday.

Tejasree said: “This facility is a gift to the girl students that can help many families, especially middle-class families, save money.”

Officials said that the corporation authorities are making a note of the rush and demand for bus routes and will add more services on sought-after routes once the study is completed.

They also said women must carry ID proofs for free travel and that it would apply only to the Palle Veluk, Express, City Ordinary, and Metro Express bus services.

“Identity cards should be shown to the conductors during the journey. Initially, even those who did not carry IDs were allowed, but soon, conductors will strictly seek IDs for the same,” an official said.