Metro India News | Hema Singuluri 

It’s a woman’s world as far as the Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (TSRTC) are concerned. Ever since the free bus rides was introduced, buses have been literally sabotaged by women- working, daily wage labourers, students and the bored housewife. Overloading is a given these days.

Everyone is boarding a bus and one cannot blame them. Many working women and college students are spilling into buses already full, making even short trips stressful. Jeevana, a 3rd year college student who travels from Jubilee hills to SR Nagar says that the free bus scheme is a major relief. “I see around 15-20 men hardly on the bus daily whereas the rest are women in groups.”

Padma Akula, 35-year-old woman working at an Electronics and Computers store should travel from Miyapur to Abids daily, says she must wait for 4-5 buses before she can board, simply because of the crowd. “The free buses now save me at least ₹100 a day, but at what cost? People who can travel by metro are choosing bus as it is free. “I have no other choice but to take the packed bus”, she added.  

Whereas, a 49-year-old nurse travelling from LB Nagar to Raidurg says she used to travel on Metro as it was faster and cleaner but switched to bus after the free-bus policy started. “It definitely saves money… but the time I lose in traffic, and the discomfort of overcrowded buses isn’t worth it,” she says.

Kiran, a 26-year-old salesman travels by bus with his 52-year-old mother, a clinic attendant at Kukatpally. He noted that the overcrowding is especially hard on his mother and improves the risk of accidents. “Despite not paying the fare, my mother is not steady and healthy to manage among such a crowd daily. Standing always, pushing through the crowd and missing the bus have become difficult for aged working women.” “Even I hardly get a seat as most of the seats are occupied by women”, he explained. 

The officials at Greater Hyderabad Zone, TGSRTC noted that currently around 3,192 buses operate in all routes in Hyderabad. Where, 275 metro deluxe buses are added, with paid fair buses.  “From Dec 2023 till date, around 25 lakhs women travelled”, he added.