The city needs to be equipped with a total of 26 inter-city bus terminals by the year 2041, including six within the next two years, to meet the increasing transportation needs.
According to the Comprehensive Transportation Study (CTS), commissioned by the Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA), there should be one inter-city bus terminal for every 50,000 passengers.
Currently, the Mahatma Gandhi Bus Station, Jubilee Bus Station and the one at Dilsukhnagar are capable of handling 2.50 lakh passengers – the equivalent of five terminals.
However, surveys (with the base year of 2011) have shown that the 11,125 buses, including non-APSRTC ones, cater to a total of 4.11 lakh passengers.
This means that the city is currently short of three bus terminals.
Sharp rise aheadThe CTS estimates that by 2021, there would be a sharp rise in the number of passengers to 6.72 lakh, and the number of buses to 18,184. The figures would rise further to 41,625 buses for 15.26 lakh passengers by 2041.
The study proposes new terminals at Vanasthalipuram, Uppal, Shamshabad, Miyapur, Chilkur, Chevella, ECIL crossroads, Medchal-Kompally road, Ibrahimpatnam and Dundigal.
Noting that the APSRTC has proposed 20 terminals for intra-city operations, the CTS report suggests that these be operated both as intra and inter-city terminals to effectively meet the passenger needs.