Free bus ride to women: Rural auto wallahs feel the pinch

Hyderabad: With free bus rides offered to women by TSRTC, as part of the Congress government’s Mahalakshmi scheme, the autowallahs from rural areas are more affected than those in urban centres like Hyderabad.

Following the launch of the scheme and the wider publicity, the women folk in the countryside who spend money more consciously are taking free bus rides, even if it means waiting for the less-frequent service to arrive.

Those who earlier utilised the services like ‘sharing autos’ prefer the buses now. “The impact of the free bus service for women is rather meager in the city.

But in rural areas where women are more budget-conscious and have decided to save some money, are ditching the auto-ride,” informed Sathi Reddy, general secretary, Telangana Auto Drivers Welfare Samakhya.

According to drivers associations who are closely monitoring the situation after the launch of the scheme, the impact cannot be ruled out in urban centres like Hyderabad but comparatively, the business has been affected in villages. “There could be about 50 per cent impact in the rural areas, while Hyderabad is facing some 20 per cent impact. Free ride has impacted but it is more in villages. Despite the availability of oth

er modes, they now prefer free rides even if it means waiting for several minutes,” explained AITUC senior leader, Umar Khan.

They argued that the losses from the Mahalakshmi scheme’s free ride are yet to be properly analysed in Hyderabad. But the three-wheelers were facing more losses from the ‘illegal’ bike app-based 2-wheeler taxis. “The enforcement authorities have failed to keep a check on these two-wheelers which are in the thousands.

If this is transporting a passenger, it should have been registered accordingly. Where is the yellow plate? Some 10,000 bikes are running in Hyderabad, but the government has yet to come up with a policy on this,” added Khan.

Within days of the launch of the scheme, the Auto drivers in the city have threatened to go on strike.

The drivers blamed that their income has come down. To resolve it is being argued that the government if seriously finding a solution to this, should immediately roll out the scheme of Rs 12,000 annual financial aid to auto drivers. “It is high time the government rolls out the scheme for rescuing the autowallahs from the impact of free bus rides,” said Shaik Salauddin, founder and State President of Telangana Gig And Platform Workers Union (TGPWU).

He also blamed the bike taxis, as they violated the Motor Vehicle Act. “The main motivation of the State government to ban bike taxis stems from not just the violation of the Motor Vehicles Act but the lack of guidelines for the regulation of bike taxis. The governments have cited safety concerns as the drivers may drive fast to complete more trips leading to several accidents,” argues Salauddin.