T'gana RTC bus services hit as employees go on strike

metro india news  I hyderabad

The Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (RTC) services across the state were disrupted as its employees began a strike on Wednesday in support of their charter of 32 demands, including merger of RTC with the government.

The RTC buses were confined to the depots, forcing passengers to rely on private transport. The RTC tried to operate private buses and electric buses to cater to the demands of the public. Noting that 65 lakh people use the RTC buses everyday, Transport Minister Ponnam Prabhakar urged the employees to call off their strike.

Assuring that the government is not opposed to 29 of the total 32 demands raised by the employees, he said in a post on X that technical issues needs to be sorted with regard to the two major demands of RTC's merger with government and elections to the recognised unions of the corporation.

The leaders of the RTC employees on Tuesday night announced strike after talks with a panel of bureaucrats failed.

The RTC Joint Action Committee (JAC) leaders said the strike would begin Wednesday morning. Officials had sought four weeks for submitting a report to the government on the demands of the employees after which the government would respond, a JAC leader said.

"We feel the committee (of officials) has been appointed to make us defer the strike. We felt that it was appointed not to address problems but to buy time," he told reporters. The 32 demands of the employees include pending wage revision and merger of RTC with the government. The RTC employees said the government's scheme of free travel for women succeeded because of their efforts.

Observing that the government is positive about addressing the concerns raised by the employees, RTC MD Y Nagi Reddy on Tuesday night said the government needed at least four weeks as the demands have financial implications.

Though the government is ready to address the issues in a phased-manner, some unions called for a strike and misleading the staff members. He appealed to the employees to attend to their duties keeping the Corporation's interests in mind. According to RTC website, 68 per cent of its buses cater to rural populace and 32 per cent for urban transportation.

Metro Rail increases frequency

Hyderabad Metro Rail has announced an increase in train frequency across both major corridors in view of the ongoing TGSRTC strike, aiming to reduce inconvenience for daily commuters. The decision has been taken in consultation with L&T Metro Rail Hyderabad Limited.

Under the revised operations, 56 metro trains will run throughout the day, covering both peak and non-peak hours. Normally, 56 trains operate only during peak hours, while 44 trains are run during off-peak periods. With the new arrangement, full fleet deployment will ensure higher frequency across the network.

On the Miyapur–LB Nagar corridor, trains will now run with a gap of around 4 minutes 20 seconds. On the Nagole–Raidurg corridor, services will operate with a reduced gap of about 3 minutes 40 seconds, ensuring quicker turnaround for passengers.

Earlier, during non-peak hours, the frequency was lower with longer waiting times. The revised schedule eliminates this variation for the strike period, maintaining uniform high-frequency services throughout the day. The management is examining the possibility of extending the last train service beyond 11 pm.