Sankranti rush: Private buses make a killing

Hyderabad: Private bus operators are trying to cash in on the heavy rush of passengers ahead of Sankranti. Despite South Central Railways and TSRTC providing special buses and trains for Sankranti festival, there is a major clamour for private buses as they provide last-minute travel options to office-goers wanting to make a quick trip. Passengers travelling from Hyderabad to Bengaluru or Hyderabad to Visakhapatnam have to cough up between Rs 1,100 and Rs 2,500 for a bus journey in sleeper and semi-sleeper coaches.

There is steep increase of 20-30 per cent in bus ticket prices for Sankranti this year. Private bus operators operate about 100 extra buses mainly to AP destinations. A majority of Hyderabadis travel to cities like Amlapuram, Kakinada, Visakhapatnam and Nellore city. Though a few people also travel in their own vehicles or book taxis for nearby places like Vijaywada, Guntur etc, a majority of them travelling to places like Kakinada and Visakhapatnam opt for buses, say Telangana private bus operators.

Travellers who book tickets have been paying about Rs 2,000 to Rs 2,800 for a semi-sleeper buses from Hyderabad to Visakhapatnam, while the charge for Hyderabad to Nellore route is between Rs 1,900 and Rs 2,500, and Rs 1,000 to Rs 2,500 for Hyderabad-Vijaywada, which is astronomical for such short distances.

B. Praveen Goud of the Telangana Private Bus Operators Association said, “We begin advance booking a month ahead of Sankranti and bookings are open till the last day as many people whose tickets are not confirmed on trains and also want to travel by bus for its comfort. These days, sleeper buses provide all comforts that travellers are looking for. We operate at least 50 extra buses mainly on Andhra routes during the Sankranti season. Trains start advance bookings three months ahead of the festival, but those who do not get confirmed reservation travel by bus.”

R. Sasidhar, an office-goer in Hyderabad, said, “Journey to hometowns during the festivals is always a challenge. The railways try to squeeze in a few extra trains but can’t provide berths or seats to everyone. This turns out to be an opportunity for private bus operators who hike tickets prices overnight. Sans any regulation on prices, passengers have no choice but to pay for over-priced tickets to travel.”