TSRTC commuters complain about failure to maintain basic things

Hyderabad: Lack of maintenance of timing and of buses besides delay in replacement of spare parts is denting the image of the State Road Transport Corporation. These are also leading to inconvenience to passengers.

Commuters are complaining about failure of the State-owned corporation to maintain basic things. They allege that many Super Luxury buses lack TV sets and charging plugs.

K Shankar, who recently boarded a bus from Shamshabad to Nirmal on December 29, said there was neither a TV set nor charging sockets in the vehicle. When asked, the driver/conductor said they had brought this to notice of higher officials but it was yet to be rectified, said Shankar. Another commuter, G Suresh, said there was no TV in the Hyderabad-Karimnagar bus while he was travelling to Sultanabad. When the RTC collects charges, it should provide such services, he stated.

The commuters also alleged that buses were not maintaining time schedule, particularly in the RGIA route buses. When confronted, the driver/conductors said they are given 35 minutes to complete the trip from Shamshabad to JBS, which is impossible because of heavy traffic.

"The passengers who book online reservations are the ones who are responsible for the delay. They call the driver/passenger stating that they will be reaching in five-ten minutes. The other passengers argue over the delay," said a driver.

The bus crew blamed higher authorities for not changing the spare parts on time, which they say, would leave an impact on mileage. A conductor said it has been months since they had requested for changing windscreen of a bus. "Cracks have appeared on the windscreen; it can break down even if the bus bumps into a pit. The driver would be blamed." He said there are some spare parts which need to be changed at a particular time, but their replacement is delayed. The commuters want authorities to focus on maintenance and timings.