Telangana State Road Transport Corporation

Road transport corporation in Telangana State was first established as NSRRTD (Nizam State Rail & Road Transport Department), a wing of Nizam State Railway in the erstwhile Hyderabad State, in 1932, with 27 buses and 166 employees. (APSRTC) was established on 11 January 1958 in pursuance of the Road Transport Corporations Act 1950. Consequent upon bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh state into Telangana and residual Andhra Pradesh, TSRTC operated as a separate entity from 3 June 2015 with a fleet of 10,500 buses, including 1,500 hired buses. The Government of Telangana subsequently established Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (TSRTC), on 27 March 2016, under the Road Transport Corporation Act, 1950. The Telangana government, on 31 July 2023, decided to merge Telangana State Road Transport Corporation with the government.^[4] On 23 May 2024, Government of Telangana decided to change the name from TSRTC to TGSRTC to avoid confusion with Tamilnadu State Express Transport Corporation.^[5]

TGSRTC has three zones: Hyderabad Rural (HR), Greater Hyderabad (GHz), and Karimnagar (KRMR). It is further subdivided into 11 regions and 25 divisions. It has a fleet of 9,094 buses,^[6] of which around 2,822 are hired vehicles. TGSRTC buses undertake operations on 36,593 routes.

TGSRTC operates a number of different kinds of services, both for urban transport as well as intercity and village transport.

Air-conditioned buses are branded as "Vajra", "Garuda Plus", "Garuda" and "Rajadhani" (previously known as Indra), "Lahari" (A/c Sleeper).

• Vajra/Cyberliner

TGSRTC started its new service named Vajra with tag line 'Mobility Redefined' and 'Service At Doorstep'. These are the Mahindra's COSMO 3.3 Liter BS-IV AC Buses. The goal of Vajra was to reduce the hassle of commuters having to travel to a bus station in Hyderabad in order to board an intercity service. Vajra bridged that gap by providing intercity services from various colonies in Hyderabad to Warangal, Nizamabad, Godavarikhani and Karimnagar city.^[7] Few buses are renamed as 'Cyberliner', for the IT employees in the Hyderabad.

• Garuda Plus

TGSRTC operates multi-axle buses of Mercedes-Benz, Volvo, and Scania branded as Garuda Plus buses. Designed for superior ride quality, these buses have reclining seats, while a few older buses also have calf rests. There are two/three LED TVs in each coach with pre-loaded movies depending on the make. As in Vennela, passengers are given a 500ml water bottle, a blanket and a packet of facial wipes. TGSRTC operates Garuda plus buses on intercity and interstate routes between urban centers such as Khammam-Bengaluru, Hyderabad-Adilabad, Hyderabad-Karimnagar, Hyderabad-Mumbai, Hyderabad-Vijayawada, Hyderabad-Bengaluru, Nizamabad-Bengaluru, Nizamabad-Tirupati,^[8] Warangal-Bengaluru, Godavarikhani-Bengaluru, Karimnagar-Bengaluru, Hyderabad-Pune, Hyderabad-Chennai, Hyderabad-Nagpur, Hyderabad-Bhadrachalam, Hyderabad-Kakinada.

• Garuda & E- Garuda

TGSRTC operates bi-axle buses of Volvo and Isuzu make branded as Garuda. There have been no additions to the fleet since 2009 apart from a few Vennela which were downgraded as Garuda. This class of service is being phased out. Designed for superior ride quality, these buses have reclining seats. As in Vennela, passengers are given a 500ml water bottle, a blanket and a packet of facial wipes. Some popular Garuda routes are Hyderabad-Warangal and Karimnagar, Vijayawada.

TGSRTC launched 10 Electric Intercity AC buses built by Olectra (CX2 model) which are branded as 'E-Garuda' on 16 May 2023. As of now these buses will ply between Hyderabad and Vijayawada.^[9]

• Rajadhani

 

TGSRTC operates AC buses built on Ashok Leyland's 12M Viking chassis and Volvo 8400 City Buses branded as ''Rajadhani''. Introduced in 2011, these buses were earlier branded as Indra. Rajadhani buses act as a bridge between mid-level service "Super Luxury" and premium service "Garuda Plus". These buses are generally operated to state capital Hyderabad from various district headquarters. These are also operated on high-frequency long-distance routes. Only water bottles are provided in these buses.

• Lahari Sleeper

For the first time in the State, the TGSRTC has introduced sleeper buses(both A/c^[10] and Non-A/c^[11]) into its fleet for the convenience of passengers travelling long distances. These buses, which are AC sleeper are built on Ashok Leyland chassis and Non-A/c Sleeper cum seater are built on Eicher chassis. These buses have been named ‘Lahari’, which have been made available for the first time in the State, as an alternative to the services of private operators.

Mid-level services are branded "Super Luxury", "Deluxe" and "Express".

• Super Luxury

These are non-air conditioned 2+2 push back services which are run from major cities. These are video coaches in which various movies are played. Most of the buses are of Ashok Leyland, Tata, Eicher etc. Recently Tsrtc, has started inducting its own BS6 stage buses into its fleet. The first batch of BS6 Super luxury buses built on Ashok Leyland chassis was inaugurated in the capital city of Telangana.^[12]

 

• Deluxe

These are non-air conditioned 2+2 services which are run as intercity services. The color of a Deluxe bus is violet. Most of the buses are of Ashok Leyland, Tata, Eicher, etc.

• Express and Semi Express

These are non-air conditioned 3+2 services which are run as intercity services. The color of an Express bus is light blue and dark blue. Most of the buses are of Ashok Leyland, Tata, and Eicher.

TSRTC runs city route buses in urban areas like Suryapet, Mahabubnagar, Siddipet, Godavarikhani and Khammam.

 

Entry-level ordinary service is branded as "Palle Velugu" and "Mini-Pallevelugu". These buses constitute the majority of TGSRTC's fleet, and are used to provide connectivity to villages and small towns. Palle Velugu are typically used on short routes connecting villages and small towns to larger towns.

 

City buses in Hyderabad and Warangal are also branded in a similar fashion. Air-conditioned city buses are branded "Metro Luxury". The city buses to Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (RGIA) are branded "Pushpak(Airport Liner)". Mid-level city services are branded "Metro Deluxe" and "Metro Express" whereas the entry-level "Ordinary" buses are not given any name but are commonly referred to as a "City Bus". These service categories should not be confused with local arrangements like "Merupu", "Trisul" and "Ramabanam".

TGSRTC also provides buses for special hire to individuals and organisations for any purpose such as tours, pilgrimage, marriage transport, excursions etc.^[13] All kinds of buses are available for Special Hire, each with their own tariff rate.^[14]

 

TGSRTC inaugurated 40 Electric buses^[15] in the capital city, which is the first STU to add electric buses under FAME scheme and named it as the 'Pushpak Airport Liner', which has replaced the 'Tata Marcopolo AC' buses with 'Olectra BYD eBuzz K9' buses which connects the Hyderabad International Airport from different locations in the city.

The following is a list of the airport bus routes operated by TGSRTC in Hyderabad.

In June 2020, TGSRTC launched its Cargo Services division.^[16] These cargo vehicles were refabricated from older, retired passenger buses, and were launched with the goal of transporting governmental goods such as books, departmental materials, question papers and answer sheets for educational institutions and other goods being supplied by the government. Each depot has been supplied with 2 cargo vehicles, and are available for hire by private parties as well.

During the COVID-19 crisis, TGSRTC cargo vehicles were used extensively to transport pharmaceuticals and medicinal supplies, as well as farm goods, groceries, and other logistics for the government.^[17]

• TGSRTC has converted few scrapped buses into Bio Mobile Toilets which are equipped with an exclusive unit for transgender, two units for women and one unit for men. The mobile toilets will be into service at places that experience high footfall and places where gatherings are held in the state.
• TGSRTC has recently launched the 'Pushpak Airport' bus 'live tracking' app for the City Airport buses, where users can view route maps, live track buses, bus number and travel duration and can also access the live location of the bus using the “View on Map” option in the app.
• TGSRTC established its own Nursing college,i.e., TGSRTC College of Nursing, to meet the needs of the hospital which will now allow out-patients other than TGSRTC employees and the classes of nursing will be starting from the academic year(2022–23) in the TGSRTC Hospital in Tarnaka.^[18]
• QR Code based UPI payments implemented at OPRS Counters,Cargo Counters in MGBS & JBS and All Bus pass Counters in Twin Cities in 2021.^[19]

• 2nd best STU at National Level in KMPL improvement during the period from October 2019 to September 2020^[20]
• TSRTC has been adjudged as “WINNER” in the category “(4) Initiatives taken for adoption of Fossil Fuel/EV vehicles /Alternative Fuel in public transport” for introduction of “Electric Vehicles”^[21]
• Telangana State Renewable Energy Development Corporation has presented Golden and Silver awards for the year 2019–20 on improvement in fuel efficiency^[22]
• Highest KMPL fuel efficiency for the year 2014-15^[23][24]
• Award for Excellence 2016 - Best Bus Transportation^[25][26]

• On 11 September 2018 India's worst bus tragedy took place in Telangana when a bus belonging to Jagtial depot was jam-packed with 88 passengers swerved off a ghat road and hurtled 30 feet down onto a valley at Sanivarampet killing 56 people and injuring 32 on board. The mishap occurred when bus driver Srinivas lost control over the wheel near Sanivarampet. Srinivas reportedly failed to slow down the vehicle as he failed to see a speed-breaker. When the bus hit the bump at high speed, Srinivas lost control over the wheel, resulting in the mishap. The vehicle rolled four times before falling onto the valley.^[27]

48000 employees stayed off work for a period of 52 days starting 5 October 2019, protesting against hostile working environments, arbitrary pay cuts and loan denials, unsanitary workplaces, long working hours, as well as asking for a merger of the corporation into the state government.^[28]

The transport strike was met with solidarity from other unions such as the Teachers' Union, Employees Union, TNGO, TS TRANSCO etc.^[29]

The strike was met with brutal suppression from the state government and Telangana Police, who fired non lethal rounds into crowds of protestors, as well as taking a large number of them into custody.^[30]

Unable to continue amid the brutal suppression, the workers were finally forced into calling off the strike on 25 November.^[31]

 

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