HYDERABAD: The MMTS service is a great mode of transport to avoid traffic snarls during peak hours and lighter on the pocket as well. However, due to lack of bus services from the stations, passengers often have to depend on autos.Many end up spending RS 40 for reaching a destination just three km from the station, whereas they would have to spend a fraction for 10-km journey on the train.For instance, after alighting at the Begumpet station, one has to walk all the way beyond the Greenlands guest house or till Ameerpet to catch a bus.At Lakdi-kapul, if one has to go towards Mehdipatnam, it is a walk of half-km till Mahaveer hospital for buses.More often than not, travellers have to pay exorbitant auto fares, as walking on these roads is a nightmare.Sriram Adidam, program manager in Wipro says, “Auto drivers overload passengers. In one shared auto, there will be seven to eight people. On top of this, their fares are unreasonable. I travel from Arts College to Lingampally everyday. From there, I have to take an auto to Gachibowli which costs around Rs 30.”Another regular traveller Shobha, who works in Hi-tec City does not find lack of buses a problem, as her office cab picks her up. “Sometimes when the cab service is not there I take a bus or an auto. The buses are crowded. Everday I see many passengers waiting for a bus. Their frequency has to be improved,” she says adding, those working in companies in Manikonda have no buses.“The Unified Metropolitan Transport Authority has to take up the issue.It is the government’s responsibility to provide better transport to public,” says Vijayraghavan K, a member of MMTS Travellers’ Group.When asked about provision of feeder services, APSRTC officials said they had requested the South Central Railways to provide information as to where buses are required and parking availability in front of stations, but had received no response.On the other hand, the SCR chief public relations officer Sambasiva Rao said bus services near stations have to be improved.
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