On a busy Thursday afternoon, the autorickshaw stand ahead of Ameerpet metro station appears emptier than usual. “Working women who used to take shared autos for their commute are now availing buses. The buses are State-run; we own these autos, have to pay EMIs, spend on maintenance and have not received any help from the government,” says Kalaghetty Ashok, an auto-driver and member of All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC)-led Auto Union. “We are not against the new Congress scheme but we are certain that it will bring down the number of women passengers,” says the union leader, adding that the Union plans to meet Transport Minister Ponnam Prabhakar to discuss their ordeal.
The State government on December 9 launched the Mahalakshmi scheme under which women and transgender persons can travel free of cost in Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (TSRTC) buses. According to TSRTC officials, an overall increase of about 25% of the passenger traffic on average has been witnessed since the introduction of the scheme, 22 lakh women have travelled in buses from December 9 to 11, and women’s share in ridership is expected to go from the present 40% to 55% by end of this year.
“Autos in rural areas will take a bigger hit than city-based autos, those carrying people from villages to mandal headquarters will now struggle to find women passengers as they will prefer to travel longer distances for free. In the city, working women will still avail autos because of the time constraint in rush office hours,” said R. Kishan Rao, an AITUC member.
