Hyderabad: TGSRTC to run over 6,000 special buses for Sankranti travel
Special bus services will be run from major stations in the city to Amalapuram, Kakinada, Narsapuram, Visakhapatnam, Vijayawada, Polavaram, Guntur, Rajahmundry
Sankranti is a time for Telugu families to return home for the harvest festival and travel rush between Telangana and AP is expected to cause shortages.
Anticipating festival travel surge, Telangana Road Transport Corporation (TGSRTC) will run as many as 6,431 special buses from Hyderabad to ensure safe travel for passengers for Sankranti. This is higher than 5,408 buses run between the two states in 2025.
The TGSRTC has significantly ramped up its services to manage the rush. Peak travel is expected on January 9, 10, 12, 13 while return rush will peak on January 18, 19.
Special bus services will be run from major stations in the city to Amalapuram, Kakinada, Narsapuram, Visakhapatnam, Vijayawada, Polavaram, Guntur, Rajahmundry to reduce waiting times. About 800 buses have already been reserved for online bookings and more buses will likely be added on basis of demand. Almost 85 percent of online seats have already been booked, officials said.
Private bus fare hikes:
Meanwhile, private bus operators are under fire for hiking fares. Tickets from Hyderabad-Vijayawada, which usually cost Rs 500-700 have been hiked to Rs 2,000 to Rs 4,000. Some companies have also hiked ticket prices for Hyderabad-Visakhapatnam route, from Rs 1,000 to Rs 5,000.
Travelers have complained that private bus operators are charging different rates for seat location, with front row seats priced higher than others.