With fares equalled, commuters may prefer Metro Rail to TSRTC

Hyderabad: With the Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (TSRTC) hiking the fares recently, the money spent by passengers on metro buses and the Hyderabad Metro Rail for short distances have become almost equal. And with this, there remains a scope for shifting of passengers from bus services to Metro rail, particularly on some routes which are heavily traffic prone.

The RTC has increased Rs 5 after 6 km and 4 km journey on the Metro Express and Metro Deluxe services respectively. It would be a crucial factor for the shift of passengers to Metro rail in coming days as commuters who were preferring RTC buses for less fare would be opting for other modes of transport, including the Metro rail. According to sources, for some distances, Metro Rail and bus fares are almost the same. Earlier also, the Metro rail was cheaper on some routes.

If a passenger going from Koti to Lakdikapul in Metro Express bus had to shell out Rs 15 before the fare revision, he was paying only Rs 13 in Metro rail.

Between Koti and Khairtabad, it is now charged Rs 23 on Metro Rail and Rs 20 on RTC's Metro bus. Similarly, Lakdikapul to Erragadda, the fare is now Rs 23 on Metro Rail and Rs 20 on bus. "Why would anyone choose a bus for short distance? They may choose Metro Rail as it is faster, avoids traffic snarls and also air conditioned," said a few passengers.

If someone needs to change two or more buses, the commuter may end up paying more amount and is all likely to travel in Metro Rail. For passengers traveling from Hayathnagar towards Bairamalguda, they have to change bus at LB Nagar. What used to be Rs 10 for each bus would be Rs 15, and the commuter will be ending up spending Rs 10 extra.

"TSRTC should consider reducing the fare at least for some stages. Rs 25 for 7 km on a Metro Express is a bit too much. It is odd to have the same fare for both 7 km and 14 km for Metro Express as the new hike which begins after 6 km remains the same till 14 km," added a passenger.