HYDERABAD: With the TSRTC plying inadequate number of buses, college students are struggling to commute to and from their institutions on the city’s outskirts.
Despite claims by RTC that buses were added to improve connectivity to far-flung areas, students are still travelling in overcrowded buses. Students have complained about the low number of ordinary buses plying — the only category of buses in which their passes are valid. With most engineering colleges being located on the city’s outskirts, commuting has turned out to be an everyday struggle for students, even as most buses managed by educational institutions remain off roads post the pandemic.
Earlier, in some locations, students also held dharnas demanding more buses, but in recent times, they have taken to social media platforms like Twitter to highlight the issue, where they tag the handles of RTC and MAU D Minister KT Rama Rao. “Request to increase buses from Chaitanyapuri to Hayathnagar specially for college students,” tweeted K Ujjwal, who tagged a video of students dangerously footboarding on a crowded bus.
Students commuting towards Hayatnagar say that some of them who tried to board an overloaded bus fell and got injured. Similar is the situation at Ibrahimpatnam, Moinabad and Medchal. During morning and evening hours, areas like Kukatpally and Shamshabad are facing inadequate buses. “We (students of CMR college, Kandlakoya) are risking our lives by travelling in RTC buses daily from Medchal to Secunderabad,” tweeted, J Vinith, who also tagged a video in which scores of young boys and girls try to catch a bus by running alongside it for several metres, till it comes to a halt.
RTC officials have blamed the situation on colleges and schools grounding their fleets of buses. “We are trying our best to fill this vacuum and have introduced 30-40 buses in coordination with the Rangareddy region, which is running Palle Velugu buses. It has come to light that most of these institutions kept their vehicles off-road after the pandemic struck,” said a senior official.