HYDERABAD: The cash strapped TSRTC may not have funds to offer its commuters a real-time bus tracking service or a sophisticated feedback mechanism just yet, however, they have found a new hack to reach out to the commuters. In the Kukatpally regional level of RTC, the top officials are managing Whatsapp groups like ‘Commuters of 216W’ and ‘195 bus group’ with techies and other IT employees, to provide real-time updates and clarify queries about their services.
In all, they have started four groups for 216W, 219, 19M and 195 routes with over 500-700 group members to help overcome one of the most pressing issues that techies face — which is the delay in the bus service.
For instance, a woman commuter who was recently waiting for the bus late in the evening, pinged in the group about the status of the bus, as the one on her route wasn’t showing up. “I generally use my company bus, but when it gets late or when I miss it, I use city buses. On that day, I dropped a text in the group and the officials called me up. The whole system is good, as even if there is no bus, or if it is going to be late, we at least know whom to call. There is a sense of accountability,” said Sushma P, a commuter using the 216 W Whatsapp group.
The groups are also helping in promoting the use of public transport, say commuters. “I learnt about this group five months back when I was looking to make a switch from riding my bike to using the bus. The group is useful because an official from the depot regularly posts when a bus has left from the depot, or where it presently is in case one asks,” said Uday A, an IT professional from Infosys on the 195 bus group.
Meanwhile, for officials of RTC who are trying hard to maximize the reach of the public transport in the West zone, it is a crucial way to understand consumer demand. “It has made it a lot more easier than before as we get feedback about the bus service as well as about the timeliness. It is part of an overall effort to connect the IT corridor with sustainable transport,” said Devadanam, Divisional Manager, Kukataplly Zone, TSRTC