BRS deputy floor leader T Harish Rao has demanded that the Telangana government withdraw fare hikes on special buses operated during the Bathukamma and Dasara festival period, arguing that higher charges and fewer regular services are making travel unaffordable for poor and middle-class families.
Harish Rao said the increased fares were placing an additional burden on families travelling to their native places for the festivals. He alleged that the government had reduced regular bus services while charging substantially higher prices for special services, without increasing the overall number of buses available to passengers.
Citing examples, Harish Rao said a ticket from Jubilee Bus Station in Hyderabad to Karimnagar, which normally costs Rs 230, was now priced at Rs 400. He also said fares between Mahabubnagar and Mahatma Gandhi Bus Station in Hyderabad had risen from Rs 220 to more than Rs 290.
The fare issue comes as Telangana’s public bus network faces heightened demand during major festivals, when large numbers of residents travel from cities to towns and villages. Special services are intended to meet this seasonal movement, but the pricing of those services can determine whether lower-income households are able to make the journey. The report did not include figures on the number of additional buses deployed or the volume of passenger demand.
Harish Rao also questioned the relationship between the government’s free bus travel scheme for women and the fares paid by other members of the same households. He asked whether the concession was effectively shifting the financial burden onto families by allowing free travel for women while charging men higher fares.
The BRS leader accused the Congress government of increasing Telangana State Road Transport Corporation fares five times in nearly three years. He described the latest festival-related charges as an attempt to take advantage of the seasonal rush and asked the government to restore regular services.
His demand places two operational questions at the centre of the festival travel debate: whether the state has deployed enough buses to meet peak demand, and how Telangana State Road Transport Corporation determines fares for special services. The supplied report does not provide a response from the government or the transport corporation to the allegations.
Harish Rao called for the withdrawal of the festival fare hikes and the restoration of regular bus services so that people travelling to their native places can access more affordable transport. No decision or implementation timeline from the government was included in the report.
