The Telangana Transport Department has received a report about the road facilities, flyovers and infrastructure in the city to consider if the iconic double-decker buses, which were used during the Nizam’s generation, can be brought back on Hyderabad roads.
Speaking to #KhabarLive, Sunil Sharma, principal secretary of transport, said: “Depending on the report, we will be taking a decision very soon. If the decision is positive, we will first start off by promoting it as a tourist facility and then slowly move on to the commercial aspects as TSRTC requires profit too.”
The buses were discontinued as a result of several reasons, including high maintenance costs, supply of the buses and its parts, and bad vehicular security. But many people feel that a handful of these buses can be reintroduced as tourist buses, to keep the Nizam city’s history alive.
According to official sources, Hyderabad had double-decker buses plying in its streets even before the Independence. “The double-decker buses used to be the last mile services that connected Secunderabad and Kacheguda railway stations during the Nizam’s era. These buses then went on to be commercial buses, and continued plying till 2004,” an official told #KhabarLive.
Hyderabad might soon see double-decker buses plying on the roads of the city. The committee that was appointed to review the feasibility of operating these buses on the city roads has submitted the report.
The committee has suggested five routes for plying the double-decker buses. It identified the area which does not have flyovers and metro rails.
These routes are as follows
229 Secunderabad to Medchal
219 Secunderabad to Patencheru
218 Kothi to Patencheru
9X CBS to Jedimetla
118 Afzalgunj to Mehdipatnam
The discussions began after TRS working president and MAUD Minister KT Rama Rao took a trip down his memory lane recently and tweeted a picture of Hyderabad’s iconic green double-decker buses and recalled how he took these buses to school. He further requested Transport Minister P Ajay Kumar to look into the possibility of resuming these services. Puvvada responded positively and said he would look into the revival of the buses, last seen in 2004.
Till the year 2002, double-decker buses with one driver and two conductors used to operate from Secunderabad to Jawaharlal Nehru Zoo Park and from Afzalgunj to Mehdipatnam. These buses used to ply on the route from Secunderabad to Mehdipatnam till 2004.
Due to the construction of flyovers in large numbers and to the poor condition of double-decker buses, they have been removed from the roads.
The buses were discontinued as a result of several reasons, including high maintenance costs, supply of the buses and its parts, and bad vehicular security. But many people feel that a handful of these buses can be reintroduced as tourist buses, to keep the Nizam city’s history alive. #KhabarLive #hydnews