Hyderabad: Women Bus Passengers Lament Hardships During Journey

Hyderabad: A week after the death of an intermediate student, Mehreen, in the Madhura Nagar police station limits, the RTC is yet to ensure a safe and comfortable ride for its passengers. Many women, who are regular travellers of RTC buses, have complained of harassment by bus drivers and conductors, while men risk their lives by hanging on the footboards.

On June 19, the Secunderabad division of the RTC organised a special drive for passengers and drivers. As a result, safety driving instructors were deployed at important stations to monitor the entry and exit at bus stops and activities of drivers and conductors while passengers are boarding and alighting.

However, there is still a long way to go since there are several issues plaguing safe travel.

A regular passenger Varalaxmi said, “Three to four buses come all at once. Since most people have time constraints, they all get into the same bus, with women occupying all the seats. Undeniably, women show no mercy towards older people. With no space left in the bus, men and sometimes even elderly people have to stand on footboards.”

About the drivers and conductors, she said, “They are so rude to us. They say that now that the Mahalaxmi scheme is in place, there is so much drama they have to bear with. Not only male passengers, even conductors in certain instances are abusive towards female passengers.”

Another regular passenger said, “Recently a driver and conductor, who were using filthy language, were uttering, "Ever since these free buses started, we've had to tolerate these people."

Another passenger, Madhavi, said, “I have had the most chaotic experiences in RTC buses lately.”

While this is just the tip of the iceberg, passengers have also complained of discrimination in maintenance of buses.

One Lava Kumar said, “The buses that go towards Hitech city and airports are well-maintained, with the bus numbers and destinations clearly written on the buses. But for buses that go to the Old City and other areas, the boards are crooked or not clear. Besides, the conductors also don’t announce before every stop about which bus stop has arrived. This becomes a problem for those who have to get down much before the final destination of the bus.”

Going further, Varalaxmi said, “Some school students create a ruckus for young girls. There is no one there we can complain to. It is only in the Koti bus stand that I have noticed corporation officials dressed up in white, monitoring buses.”

Madhavi, who boards a bus from Mehdipatnam almost every day, complained of dearth of buses to Chilkur and its surrounding places.

“On being asked, the depot manager had no answer as to why there were no buses bearing the numbers 288 and 188,” she said.

Meanwhile, many passengers are unhappy with the Mahalaxmi scheme

One female passenger said, “Having free bus facility is a boon but the way it is being implemented is not. For women like us from the lower strata, getting a seat is difficult. Sometimes, even the rich ones come into the bus and occupy seats and they don’t vacate even though the ones standing are older.”