Hyderabad: Hyderabad may soon see double-decker buses running on city roads again. Minister K.T. Rama Rao set the ball rolling with his post on Twitter on Saturday, reminiscing of travelling in the iconic double-decker bus to school.
It all started off with a post from Twitter user Shaker Hussain, who had tagged Rama Rao and Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao on an old photograph of a double decker bus on Tank Bund, and asked if the service could be resumed for tourists if not as a regular bus service.
Replying to this, Rama Rao asked transport minister Puvvada Ajay Kumar if there was any chance of bringing back the double-deckers. The transport minister replied that he would speak to the authorities to look into the possibilities.
Rama Rao’s post read: “I have many fond memories of riding the double-decker bus on my way to St. George’s Grammar School at Abids. Not sure why they were taken off the roads. Any chance we can bring them back?”
Asked about the possibility of reintroducing the buses, Sunil Sharma, TS Road Transport Corporation incharge managing director, told Deccan Chronicle that a meeting with all stakeholders will take place on this next week.
Rama Rao’s post has already garnered major support for the idea of bringing the double-deckers back, and several people recalled their memories from over 15 years ago.
A Twitter user said, "I have the same memory of double-decker bus from St. George's Grammar School. Though I used to travel in an auto (rickshaw), my first picnic from the school was to the zoo and they took us in a double-decker bus, my only ride in a double-decker.”
Another user, supporting the idea, added, “It will give an amazing look to the city... London, Dubai also have double-decker buses. Looking (at the city) from these buses is just amazing.. Please bring them back in their modern avatar.”
The buses were discontinued about 15 years ago due to operational costs, according to Venkateshwarlu, TSRTC executive director. He said that running the double-deckers was not economically viable when compared to the regular buses. Nearly 100 double-decker buses were operational earlier, he added.
