HYDERABAD: Call it lack of awareness or sheer want of civic sense, drivers of the Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (TSRTC) park the buses on roads and other busy areas of the city, leading to traffic congestions, while enjoying a hot cup of tea in nearby stalls.
Such traffic snarls due to the haphazard parking of RTC buses are regular sights near Keys High School and Near Alpha Hotel in Secunderabad, Mehdipatnam main road, LB Nagar, Moosarambagh Chowrasta, Uppal Saraswati Nagar, etc. According to the corporation, there are 2,476 busses, which ply on city roads on a daily basis, each bus making multiple trips to various destinations in the city.
Meanwhile, the TSRTC has also implemented the new passenger-friendly policy, allowing the drivers to stop the bus when someone waves from any side of the road, not just at the assigned bus stops, but anywhere on the road.
The passengers have also an option of getting down from the bus, wherever they want to, on that route. This facility has become a curse to many passengers, as their travel time doubles as the buses frequently stop.
R. Lakshmi, a teacher at the Sadhana Institute for intellectually Challenged Children, Nacharam and a resident of Pirzadiguda, is a frequent commuter with the TSRTC bus numbers 117 and 284. She said, “After implementation of this new policy, my travel time, which used to be around 20 minutes, jumped to 40 minutes. This is causing hindrances to the other traffic too, as the buses are stopping throughout the road when someone waves hand, and passengers are getting down wherever they want. Then why are the bus stops for?”
An RTC conductor said, “Since each trip takes more than one hour, we stop the buses on these roads just to use washrooms, or for a cup of tea.”
A two-wheeler rider, Abdul Khadeer, said, “These buses which are parked on the roads are causing traffic congestion. Veerla Venkateshwarlu, Greater Hyderabad Zone executive director, said, “The TSRTC is lacking spaces to park the buses in some areas in the city where the crew members have to take a break. When a bus runs from Koti to Patancheru, the crew needs a break to use toilets. Meanwhile, for every ten minutes a bus is scheduled for the convenience of the citizens.”
