HYDERABAD: When we read about heatwave conditions in Telangana, one cannot ignore temperatures which range between harrowing 42 and 44 degrees in many districts. The last thing one would do in such conditions is to travel boxed in aluminium-roofed, metal-floored RTC buses in the afternoons with hot winds brushing their faces.
Though summers are the time when people head to their hometowns, travel places to attend marriages and other functions, the severe heat conditions brought down the occupancy ratio during the afternoons by more than 5 per cent in RTC’s Ordinary and Express buses and by 10 per cent in some places such as Jagityal.Passengers prefer to travel early in the morning or at night and if it is inevitable to travel in the afternoon, they choose to travel in AC buses. Because of this, some buses scheduled in the afternoon are being operated at night.
The executive directors of the Karimnagar, Adilabad, Hyderabad and Ranga Reddy zones said the occupancy ratio in Ordinary and Express buses has come down by at least 5 per cent. However, the overall occupancy ratio increased because of festivals and summer vacation. “The Occupancy Ratio increased by 3 per cent. But the ratio comes down from around 2 pm. Passengers prefer to travel in the morning and night,” said G Satyanarayana, TSRTC’s executive director.