Hyderabad: The Telangana Road Transport Corporation (TSRTC) has ferried about 2.50 crore women for free during Sankranti festival season in buses this year between January 10 and 18. While on an average day, about 27 lakh women travel in buses across the State, during the festive season, 29 lakh women choose the public transport to travel to their hometowns and return. Meanwhile, the occupancy ratio touched 90 per cent during the festive days.
The surge in TSRTC buses has been attributed to the Maha Lakshmi free bus travel for women scheme of the Congress-led government. Launched in December last year, the scheme not only provided free rides for women but also boosted the corporation. The corporation which first operated 4,484 buses for Sankranti, increased them to 6,260 for all the days depending on need from various areas.
RTC also continued the dynamic fare system for premium services like super luxury and Garuda. This move, while ensuring availability, also contributed to the substantial earnings recorded by TSRTC. On January 17 and 18, TSRTC collected Rs 45 crore in ticket fare. A significant portion of this surge in commuters was observed in buses bound for Andhra Pradesh.