HYDERABAD: After the tragic death of Maseera Mehreen, a student, in Madhura Nagar last Friday, city passengers are advocating for the installation of doors on Telangana State Road Transport Corporation’s (TGSRTC)Ordinary and Metro Express buses to enhance safety measures.
Mehreen fell and ran over by the bus which she was trying to disembark. Passengers note an increase in bus crowds since the launch of Mahalakshmi scheme. They believe that installing and keeping doors closed would provide safety to the ones standing near the door.
Meanwhile, speaking to TNIE, TGSRTC Managing Director, VC Sajjanar, said, “With so many passengers aboard, it is not possible for the drivers and conductors to manage the doors. But, we will be adding a fleet of 500 electric buses in the city and 125 diesel-run Metro Express buses soon.”
Commuters suggest passengers should avoid standing too close to doors or taking overcrowded buses. However, they said if the doors were installed and closed, passengers would also stop leaning from footboards.
Swaroop Varada, an IT employee at Rasoolpura, recalled his experience in the Karnataka capital saying, “In Bengaluru, bus doors are opened only at stops. It’s a good practice, that we can also adopt here.”
It is reportedly mandated by the Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) in Bengaluru for the drivers and bus conductors to ensure that the back and front doors of the ordinary buses are closed before starting the bus. This norm was applied after a 14-year-old schoolgirl died after losing her balance and falling from a crowded bus in Haveri district.
A bus conductor at JBS told TNIE, “It would be difficult for us to ensure that the doors closed all the time along with managing the crowd. The time consumed by a single trip will increase.”
Akhila, a regular bus commuter, said, “Doors should be installed and kept closed regularly for safety, especially during peak hours when buses are overcrowded.”
“Even if it takes longer to cover routes, passenger safety matters more than time. It will take 10 to 15 minutes more than usual to cover the route. But that does not matter more than someone’s life,” she added.
Meanwhile, a bus driver said the capacity of the fleet is not in accordance with the number of passengers. “The capacity of a single bus is to accommodate 40 to 50 passengers. But at times, there are around 90 to 100 people inside the bus. So, more new buses are required at the earliest too.”
As per RTC officials, all of the nearly 2,800 City Ordinary and Metro Express buses operate without doors.
Of the 90 electric buses running on the city roads, 40 Pushpak and 25 Green Metro Luxury AC buses run with door closed and 25 e-Metro Express non-AC buses function with their doors open.