The Telangana government has decided to reconsider the charges of a common pass for the Hyderabad Metro and Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (TGSRTC) buses, following public complaints that it was too expensive, state Transport Minister Ponnam Prabhakar said on October 12.
The common bus for Hyderabad Metro and RTC was launched on October 2. A one-day pass was priced at Rs 400 (Metro share Rs 300 and RTC share Rs 100), and a monthly pass at Rs 8,500 (Metro share Rs 7,000 and RTC share Rs 1,500). An additional refundable fee of Rs 100 also applies.
Many commuters had pointed out at the time that the monthly pass charges were unrealistic and would cost more than buying daily tickets for even the longest commute routes. At the time of its introduction, Chief Secretary Sanjay Jaju had said that the card was being introduced on a pilot basis and changes would be made later.
“The government has decided to review the charges for the RTC-Metro Common Pass, which was recently launched. In the backdrop of complaints from the public that the common pass charges are too high, we have decided to review the charges after taking into account public opinions and the ground realities, on the instructions of Deputy Chief Minister Bhatti Vikramarka,” Ponnam Prabhakar said.
He said the government will soon hold a meeting with senior officials to fix common pass prices in a way that reflects ground realities and makes them accessible to the public.