Free Bus Service Highlights Need For TSRTC To Strengthen Its Fleet

Although the Maha Lakshmi free bus travel initiative for women by the Congress government has been well received, the TSRTC’s inadequate fleet has come to light due to an unexpected rise in demand for bus services. While additional buses would be added to popular routes and new routes constructed based on demand, Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (TSRTC) officials stated that the fleet expansion will not take place until research on the traffic pattern is finished. They calculate that in order to maintain the current level of security, the fleet would need to grow to a greater extent than it did before the COVID-19 epidemic.

Prior to COVID-19, the TSRTC ran 10,460 buses throughout the state out of 97 depots. Due to low demand, the number of buses dropped when operations restarted on May 19, 2020, following the pandemic-induced lockdowns. The company then stopped operating buses on low-occupancy routes and reduced the frequency of those on routes where there was a significant decline in passenger traffic. The TSRTC was already well in the red, but it was even worse off when the demand for less expensive tickets and the rise in diesel costs combined to cripple the organization and prevent it from operating at maximum capacity. There are currently 8,000 buses run by the TSRTC, although it is becoming more frequent to hear complaints about their low frequency and lack of service on certain routes. TSRTC officials stated that they will have to run additional buses as a result of the government increasing foot traffic under the Maha Lakshmi initiative.