Southern States - Andhra Pradesh-Hyderabad   

Commuters want more MMTS trains

By V. Geetanath

HYDERABAD Sept. 4. Though regular commuters of the nearly month-old Multi-Modal Transport System feel the ride to be "comfortable, reliable and safe,'' they want the frequency of the trains to be increased and the afternoon gap filled.

The riders want the services to be synchronised with the office hour traffic and the long distance train schedule. The feeder bus services should also be increased as a majority of the commuters were travelling by them. This also brings into focus the delay in implementing the combined train-bus ticket.

These were some of the facets that came to the fore during a feedback and opinion survey by the L&T, consultants for the Municipal Corporation of Hyderabad and Ministry of Railways, among current riders of the MMTS in the Secunderabad-Lingampally-Hyderabad corridor.

The survey, conducted last month during a working day and a holiday to study the socio-economic profile of the commuters, to elicit suggestions and identify the problems, threw up some interesting facts.

Two-third of the riders were daily travellers and were either employees or businessmen. On holidays more women, especially housewives, were hopping in. About 49 per cent own a two-wheeler and, interestingly, 11 per cent had cars.

Sixty per cent used the trains to commute to work or business and one-fifth were dependent on buses. Seventy nine per cent felt the MMTS was `very comfortable' and 18 per cent `comfortable'.

The bovine mishap on the very second day notwithstanding, 54 per cent felt the trains were `very safe', while 41 per cent thought they were `safe'. While 88 per cent thought the service `very reiliable' nine per cent thought they were `reasonably reliable.'

Eighty-five per cent were satisfied with the journey time against a dissatisfied two per cent. But, 57 per cent were not satisfied with the trains' frequency while 36 per cent were satisfied. The first-class fare was found to be high but 75 per cent said the second-class fare was right while 16 per cent did not agree.

Riders also pointed out the absence of amenities like phones, dustbins, etc., cleanliness and security in the stations, height difference between the train and some of the platforms, low approach-pick up speed, high parking fee in stations and poor accessibility to stations like the Hi-tec City.

Based on the survey, the agency has recommended that the train frequency be increased to one every 15 minutes during peak time and every 30 minutes during off time. Other recommendations included running of trains between 11 a.m. and 3.30 p.m. and scheduled to match the office long distance trains, and building of foot-over-bridges on top priority at Hafeezpet, Raj Bhavan and Khairatabad.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Southern States

News: Front Page | National | Southern States | Other States | International | Opinion | Business | Sport | Miscellaneous |
Advts: Classifieds | Employment | Obituary |

Stories in this Section

• Commuters want more MMTS trains
• Cop suspended on fake passport issue
• Mukhtada files papers for Karwan bypoll
• `Kala Bazar' at Public Gardens
• Pay more for better service, RTC MD tells parents
• CM reviews HUDA projects
• Rs. 3 lakhs taken away from bank employees

Copyright © 2003, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu