Upset Auto Drivers Protest Free Travel on TSRTC Buses

Hyderabad: Auto rickshaw drivers are up in arms after the Congress-led government introduced free travel for women in the state-owned TSRTC buses under the Mahalakshmi scheme promised during the elections for empowerment of women. 

The auto rickshaw drivers were seen staging a dharna in Hyderabad against the free bus travel for women. They claimed that the free ride for women in the public transport has dented their income. 

The angry auto drivers said the government made the decision without considering its impact on their alternate transport system. Nearly two lakh autos run on the roads of twin cities Hyderabad and Secunderabad and majority of the working women depend on the share autos to go to their workplaces or catch the buses. The auto drivers rue that they were barely earning due to the inflation and the government’s decision has taken away their only source of income too. They have appealed to the chief minister Revanth Reddy to look into their concerns and address their problems. 

The free bus travel under the Mahalakshmi scheme has been a hit among women travellers in the state. The women can travel in any TSRTC bus by showing their identity cards of Telangana domicile. It’s noteworthy that as per TSRTC reports, nearly 40 lakh passengers travel in over 7,000 buses daily and 30 percent of them are women. 

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