In an effort to help children from government and private schools in their daily commute, the Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (TSRTC) is inviting individuals as well as larger groups to sponsor free yearly bus passes for the students. The registration of the bus passes is priced at Rs 30 and the RTC is hoping for donations to help reach their goal of assisting as many students as possible.
While the initiative is aimed at all students, usually students from economically weaker backgrounds need assistance when it comes to registration fees. The TSRTC is inviting sponsors who are interested in helping the children pay the registration fees for their bus pass application which can be downloaded online.
The corporation in 2018 had issued 60,000 bus passes across the Greater Hyderabad region alone and now wants more students in the state to choose public transport for the commute to their schools.
The student bus pass is only for the TSRTC city buses with a 20-kilometre distance limit. Girl students who are below 18 years of age or are studying in classes below Class 10 are eligible for a free bus pass. Girl students are also allowed to travel to any exam centre for free using their bus pass and SSC hall tickets.
Meanwhile, boy students below the age of 12 or those who are studying up to Class 7 are eligible for the free bus pass. Sudha Parimala, Divisional Manager, Secunderabad Division, TSRTC, says that there is very little interest from private-run schools in the city to enrol with TSRTC to issue bus passes for their students. Under the free bus pass system, the schools have to register with the corporation by paying Rs 2,000 yearly.
"Many schools are yet to register. We can only issue the bus passes to children of schools that are registered but many schools are not keen about joining as they have their own buses. Some have not yet renewed their codes," Sudha adds.
The Secunderabad division has so far issued 10,000 free bus passes and is trying to get more passes issued before September-end. School students who want bus passes in other districts in Telangana can contact their TSRTC divisional or depot managers. To sponsor bus pass registration for students, can also reach out to them. Details below:
Divisional Manager, Secunderabad: 9959226142
Depot manager, Cantonment: 9959226143
Depot manager, Jeedimetla: 9959226150
Depot manager, Ranigunj 1: 9959226146
Depot manager, Ranigunj 2: 9959226147