The Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (TSRTC) buses are taken by nearly 45 lakh people daily on an average, out of which about 10 lakh is from the Greater Hyderabad zone that covers Hyderabad, Secunderabad and West Hyderabad, including the IT Corridor.
So, there is a lot of expectation in terms of connectivity to villages also. However, official data shows that the number of unconnected villages across Telangana has increased by nearly 1,500 over the last three years.
While there were 844 villages that did not have RTC service in May 2019, the number remained almost the same till 2022. But, by February this year, the number rose to 1,497, according to official data.
According to TSRTC staff, there are two reasons behind this. First, the Telangana government embarked on an exercise to upgrade thandas into Gram Panchayats. As a result, thandas with a population of over 500 were treated as Gram Panchayats. The move saw over 3,000 such thandas and gudems receiving benefits on a par with rural local bodies.
The second reason is the plain and simple question of viability and profitability. As creating new routes and running buses to some of these villages were considered a loss-making prospect, the TSRTC thought these unviable that would only add to its mounting losses. “Running buses on routes should be profitable,” said a senior TSRTC official. “As you know, we have to do route viability studies before finalising bus services,” he added.
Official data indicates that as of February this year, the total number of routes across Telangana stood at 3,315. For the same period, the TSRTC incurred losses of nearly ₹600 crore.
Managing Director of TSRTC V.C. Sajjanar confirmed that the conversion from thandas to Gram Panchayats has seen a rise in the number of villages that are not connected. “Efforts are under way to look into the matter,” he said.
Transport researcher G.S.R. Chaitanya, who is in favour of improving bus services, said that access to public transport increases access to healthcare and employment. As a natural consequence, lack of access to public transport does the opposite.
“Even if bus services are not frequent, it would be in the interest of the public to have some sort of connectivity. A way out is to reimburse operational losses. The recently-appointed village bus officers should look into this and forward the requirements of villagers to their managers and create a strong bond with the public,” he said.
