HYDERABAD: During a review meeting of the TGSRTC on Saturday, Minister Ponnam Prabhakar stated that as many as 1.11 crore zero tickets have been issued under Mahalakshmi scheme till November 20, leading to a savings of Rs 3,747 crore for women passengers.
The minister highlighted that although the RTC had faced losses due to the scheme initially, it is now making a profit. He also pointed out that the occupancy ratio (OR) has increased from 69% to 94%, with 65.56% of total passengers being females.
Prabhakar noted that the number of women commuters using the scheme is steadily rising and instructed RTC officials to develop a plan for purchasing new buses based on passenger numbers.
The minister praised the effective implementation of the Mahalaxmi scheme, which was launched with great pride by the state government. He further pointed out that RTC has purchased 1,389 new buses from December 2023 till the date.
Noting that the state government has decided to provide rented buses to self-help groups in the union districts of Mahabubnagar, Karimnagar, Khammam and Warangal, he asked officers to arrange one rented bus for each mandal union in these four districts.
He suggested modernisation of bus stations and emphasised the need to expedite the recruitment process for jobs for the spouses and children of deceased or medically unfit staff.