HYDERABAD: As Hyderabadis eagerly look forward to take ride in the metro on Wednesday, a day after it was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, several feel that the cost of ride is not a deciding factor as metro is most certain to reduce the travel time. One of the 800 students at Pragathi Junior College near Kukatpally metro station, Y Satish, is happy that he does not have to depend on the crowded buses anymore.
The two bus stops on either side of the Kukatpally metro station, he says, are crowded at all times of the day and served as the best transport option available for the students. On Tuesday, Kukatpally metro station gates were opened for commuters to be used as Foot over Bridges (FoB)s. “It takes me one hour to get to Kukatpally on a bus from my home in Ameerpet. The journey could take up to an hour and a half during peak hours. I expect the metro to reduce my travel time to just half an hour,” said Satish. The second year intermediate student said that he spends `40 to travel from Kukatpally to Ameerpet in a day, the same journey via metro would now cost him `60. But the youngster is unfased by `20, which he needs to shell out, so are others.
“The buses are always crowded in the evenings and we have to do footboard travelling, it’s not safe. The road doesn’t even have zebra crossings and this is a highway, crossing the road is risky,” said Ashish Kumar Choudhary, a first-year intermediate student who commutes between Maradpally and Kukkatpally in a bus.
The youth intends to change his travel plans by getting down at Paradise metro station and continue his commute to Maradpally by taking a bus from Jubilee Bus Station (JBS). The metro ride without the last mile bus journey alone would cost the youth `80.