RTC Plans Single-Ticket E-Rickshaws To End Hyderabad’s Travel Hassles
Three months after Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy ordered authorities to provide last-mile connectivity to increase passenger numbers in public transport in Hyderabad, the Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (TGSRTC) has proposed the introduction of electric autorickshaws to connect domestic areas.
According to sources, officials are in talks with electric vehicle manufacturers and aggregators to strengthen the details of the service. The pilot project will be launched in Hyderabad and will later be expanded to other cities.
The new plan will enable service-agnostic, point-to-point ticketing and allow passengers to complete multi-leg journeys with a single ticket, officials said.
According to the system, a passenger can drive to a bus stop from the inland area using an autorickshaw, take the bus to a point near the destination and then reach the final location using another autorickshaw.
“The electric cars under the ‘first-mile-to-last-mile connectivity’ initiative aims to provide greater convenience to bus passengers. The services will first start in Greater Hyderabad, followed by other major cities. Passengers will be able to book both bus tickets and connecting electric car travel in a single transaction. The service bridges the gap from home to the bus stand and from the bus drop-off stop to the final destination,” an RTC official said.
The new RTC service will follow the hub-and-spoke model used in many countries to solve this problem by connecting bus stops with internal areas.
Lack of last-mile connectivity has always been blamed for the lower-than-expected footfall in public transport in Hyderabad, as the majority of people in the city stay at places further away from major landmarks like buses, metro or MMTS. Lack of effective public transport options forces people to opt for private vehicles in Hyderabad, roads become crowded and cause traffic congestion.
An efficient public transport system is crucial to the development of a world-class city as it allows commuters to save time. This will also lead to the expansion of the city and relieve congestion in the core metropolis. But no Indian
The state government is also planning to introduce common ticketing for buses and metro rails through a common mobility pass system called Telangana Mobility as a Service (T-Maas). Hyderabad Metro has switched to National Common Mobility Card (NCMC), launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on March 7, 2019, for prepaid ticketing.
