As the stage is being set for the formal inauguration of the prestigious metro rail project by Prime Minister Narendra Modi here, the Transport Department has made arrangements to ferry the passengers from residential colonies to their nearest metro stations.
The Telangana State Road Transport Corporation will introduce 50 buses in 10 routes linking the metro stations to residential areas. The emphasis will be on connecting the IT corridor with 29 buses deployed in six routes while 21 new buses will be deployed connecting residential areas with metro stations. The frequency of the new buses will be once in 15 minutes and the deployment of new buses comes after a survey commissioned by the TSRTC to assess the requirement.
Transport Minister P. Mahender Reddy said the Transport Department officials had visited Mumbai and Bengaluru to study the existing arrangements connecting metro routes and finalised the initial requirement. The department would progressively enhance the services as the remaining portion of the metro corridor in phases.
The TSRTC was operating 1,700 buses with 70% occupancy ratio on the routes connecting the metro and it was in the process of purchasing 180 buses, some of which had already arrived for effectively linking the metro routes. The operational schedules of the new buses would be finalised after observing the metro operations for two months.
To a question, he said the department had not taken a decision with regard to the combo pass that would be valid for both the RTC services as well as the metro rail. He said there would be no impact on the revenue of the TSRTC on account of the metro rail and the RTC buses would in fact complement the new initiative providing connectivity to every corner of the city.
Given the pollution-free operations planned through introduction of metro rail, the department would explore options for operating electric buses on the routes connecting metro, he added.
