‘False propaganda’: Sajjanar rejects claims of increase in TGSRTC bus ticket prices during festivals

Hyderabad: Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (TGSRTC) managing director VC Sajjanar on Monday called the claims of increase in ticket prices during Bathukamma and Dussehra festival as false propaganda. According to GO 16, the TGSRTC revised fares only in special buses and there is no change in ticket charges for regular services, he added.

Sajjanar said that during major festivals like Sankranti, Dussehra, Rakhi Poornami, Vinayaka Chavithi, Ugadi etc., most of the public from Hyderabad visit their hometowns. In these circumstances, special services are operated by the RTC to take people to their destinations safely without causing any problems in terms of transportation.

Prices on special buses can only be increased by Rs 1.50

“Based on the passenger rush, the corporation even operated city buses in Hyderabad as special services to various districts. During the return journey, the special buses operated empty as there would be no rush of passengers. In 2003, the State government issued GO 16 to revise the ticket price according to the minimum diesel costs incurred by those special buses,” the TGSRTC MD said.

Sajjanar said the government also gave the RTC the flexibility to revise the ticket price up to Rs 1.50 only on special buses that operated during festivals. After the implementation of the Mahalakshmi scheme, the congestion in RTC buses has increased by 25 per cent. Compared to the past, there has been an increase in bus trips for Sankranti, Rakhi Poornami and other festivals, he said.

“During the festive season, there is more traffic on one side. All the buses are empty on the return journey. In this regard, the fares of the special buses plying in the respective festivals are being revised according to GO 16. Currently, more than 9,000 buses are in service in the TGSRTC. The corporation runs an average of 500 special buses every day to cope with the rush during the festive season. Only those 500 special buses will have fare revisions. There will be no change in the fares of the remaining 8,500 regular services,” Sajjanar said.

The TGSRTC MD said that there would be differences in ticket prices between regular and special services during the festive season.

For instance, if a passenger is travelling on regular services, the normal ticket price is the same. In case if he/she travelled in a special bus during their return journey there would be revised charges as per the GO 16. The company had installed display boards in front of buses for special services to inform the passengers. Also, the RTC staff would inform the passenger about the revised fares in special buses at the time of ticket issuance, he said.