To provide safe travelling options to IT workers, especially women employees, in the Cyberabad region, RTC has decided to add 50 to 60 additional buses to its existing fleet of 383 that ply the IT corridor everyday. Post the Nirbhaya case and the recent incident of rape of an IT women employee, RTC officials have also contacted IT companies individually and offered them with tailor- made trips for their employees.
“We will provide air-conditioned buses, if software companies in the IT hub cooperate and assure us that their employees will indeed travel and patronise our buses. We are working closely with Cyberabad police to curb the menace of sharing cabs with strangers, which is not at all advisable,” said Executive Director, Greater Hyderabad and Hyderabad zones, APSRTC, A. Koteswara Rao.
Addressing press persons on Wednesday, the RTC official said that a sample survey by RTC and Cyberabad police was conducted on October 29 to ascertain the number of passengers travelling by cabs and autos. The study revealed that, between 8 a.m. and 11 a.m., an estimated 12,000 IT employees share 4,200 cabs and autos to reach to their offices. According to RTC officials, an estimated 40,000 passengers use cabs and autos in the IT hub daily.
“To be able to run so many new buses, there is also a need to set up exclusive RTC bus depots in the IT hub. At present, there are no provisions for bus depots. We have requested A.P. Industrial Infrastructure Corporation (APIIC) to provide us with three acres of land each in five locations in the IT hub,” the ED said. In the initial stages, shuttle services will be provided in the four routes including Mehdipatnam- Gachibowli-IIIT-Wipro, Lingampally-IIIT Wipro, Bachupally-JNTU-Cyber towers- Raheja, Hi-Tec City railway station-Cyber towers-Raheja and Wipro sections. “We will operate buses with a frequency of 10 to 15 minutes in these areas. We are working with the Cyberabad police to provide a single-holding area to cabs and autos, which will discourage the practice of cab-sharing,” he said.
