Maha Lakshmi rush strains TSRTC, commuters alike

In many recent instances, students and women were seen risking their lives to board a bus, as most of them are overcrowded, thanks to the implementation of ‘Maha Lakshmi’ scheme which has led to a surge in passenger traffic

Hyderabad: The Telangana State Road Transport Corporation is grappling with a rather challenging situation. On one hand, the occupancy ratio has increased, but on the other, there are no adequate buses.

In many recent instances, students and women were seen risking their lives to board a bus, as most of them are overcrowded, thanks to the implementation of ‘Maha Lakshmi’ scheme which has led to a surge in passenger traffic.

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RTC authorities claim that the occupancy ratios have exceeded 100 per cent, with recorded figures of 114.28 per cent and 108.38 per cent in February this year. Previously, the occupancy ratio ranged between 50 per cent to 70 per cent across the depots.

However, this apparent success in increased ridership has not translated into improved services for the RTC, one major reason being lack of adequate buses. Though new buses including luxury, express and electric are introduced periodically, their numbers are not sufficient for the rising demand.

Of the 9,200 buses in the RTC, including hire buses, it is learnt nearly 5,000 are old and prone to breakdowns.

The increased capacity and heavy load have taken a toll on the buses, leading to frequent damages. In the past, buses covering over 8 lakh km were decommissioned, but now they reportedly are continued even after reaching 14 lakh to 15 lakh km.

TSRTC Managing Director VC Sajjanar said procurement of new buses will be a continuous process. “In the last few months, we have commissioned many new buses into the vehicle fleet. It is an ongoing process. We are working towards getting 2,500 more buses including electric ones,” he said.