Telangana intensive household survey , Windfall for pvt bus operators... HYDERABAD: Among the few who have enjoyed the windfall of the household survey to be held on August 19 are the private bus operators, who are cashing in on the mad rush of commuters between Hyderabad and other Telangana districts to participate in the survey from their homes. In the lat four days, operators have increased the fares manifold, laving hapless travellers fuming. The scramble for bus tickets started on August 14, with a series of holidays (August 15-17) giving people an extended weekend. The Telangana government had also declared August 19 as a general holiday for the survey. With several natives of Telangana rushing home in this short period, private bus operators have reportedly quoted three times the normal fare on some booking websites. Operators plying air-conditioned semi-sleeper and sleeper services on the Bangalore-Hyderabad route fixed fares between Rs 2,000 and Rs 3,000. I frequently travel to Bangalore and generally the fare for a sleeper seat is around Rs 1,600. But I was asked to pay Rs 3,100. With no alternative, I took a semi-sleeper service by paying a whopping Rs 2,000, instead of the usual fare between Rs 800 and Rs 1,000. This is daylight robbery, P Karthik, a resident of Tolichowki, told TOI. On Sunday too, the fares were unusually high, with the Mumbai- Hyderabad bus fare hovering between Rs 2,500 and Rs 3,500, and the Tirupati-Hyderabad trip costing Rs 1,200 (non-AC) and Rs 1,700 for AC and other services, nearly double the usual rate. Indirectly causing this exasperating situation is also the Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (APSRTC), which are falling short in the number of services. While private bus operators are plying nearly 1,600 AC buses to various locations, mostly within united AP and Karnataka, the APSRTC operates only 300 AC buses for long-distance travel. When asked, APSRTC executive director (Greater Hyderabad), Jaya Raom said 250 additional buses were added to the fleet since there was a heavy demand from various Telangana districts.
Posted on: Mon, 18 Aug 2014 09:12:09 +0000