The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh / Hyderabad News : RTC, Railways locked in row

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Feb 14, 2005

Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh - Hyderabad

RTC, Railways locked in row

By V. Geetanath

HYDERABAD, FEB. 13. The tussle between the Railways and the State Road Transport Corporation (RTC) over providing feeder services to the Multi-modal Transit System (MMTS) continues.

The latest is the RTC's request for Rs. 10 crores to link buses with the stations and nearby housing localities and the Railways seeking the Government's nod for calling for open tenders for such services.

The Joint Task Force, consisting of officials from the South Central Railway, the Municipal Administration Department, MMTS, Police, the APSRTC and others discussed the issue at a meeting recently and put it before the Chief Secretary for perusal. RTC authorities had explained that they needed the money to buy 150-odd buses to provide feeder services. And, considering the current financial state, they said they were not in a position to invest such a sum. "We have asked the Railways for funds. Unlike us, they have budgetary support and can afford it," maintained a senior RTC official.

Tenders

Railway officials, in turn, chose to go for tenders, insisting that the RTC, too, could join the bids. "Many private parties are interested to run feeder services. RTC buses are not in sync with our train schedules and the general feeling is they are competing with the trains," explained a railway official.

Feeder services had been the bone of contention between the two since the launch of MMTS in 2003. The Union Minister of State for Railways, R. Velu, was said to have broached the topic with the Chief Minister, Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy, during his recent visit.

Patronage hit

MMTS officials feel that lack of such a facility was affecting the patronage by the general public. "We had many meetings to coordinate the services with RTC authorities but failed to convince them on the common goal of providing efficient combined public transport," said the railway official. Studies done by them had shown that many would opt for MMTS train if a bus service was available to reach their destinations. "Many educational institutions lie in the vicinity of our stations and if proper feeder services are provided, many students and those going for shopping trips will use the trains," he reasoned.

RTC, however, disagrees. "Wherever our services are inadequate, autos and seven-seaters have filled the gap. But, such intermediate small transport services have not taken off near the MMTS stations. We can't be solely blamed for the low patronage of trains as there is much to be done by the Railways," contended an RTC official.

"Our experience had shown that more frequency meant more people on board. We have cleared the combined ticket, but it is pending with the Railway Board. They can also allow long distance travellers to make use of locals as we had done," he pointed out.

Increased frequency, combined bus-train ticket, approach roads to stations like Hi-Tec City, Borabanda, etc., were still pending and no effort was made to market MMTS. However, both organisations hope that the proposed Special Purpose Vehicle to manage MMTS would untie a few knots.

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