Old buses parked outside the Telangana State Road Transport Corporation’s Bus Bhavan, in Hyderabad. File
| Photo Credit: RAMAKRISHNA G
With the new driving license rules, scheduled to come into force on June 1and the Union government’s plans to phase out old government vehicles, the Telangana State Road Transport Corporation’s (TGSRTC) buses are likely to be in the spotlight.
As of March 2024, the TGSRTC’s fleet strength stood at 9,094 buses. Of these, 6,368 buses are corporation-owned, and the remaining 2,726 are hired buses.
In terms of old vehicles, data from the TGSRTC shows that its Hyderabad Region and Secunderabad Region have a total of 637 buses that are 15 years old or more. Buses that have run for 14 years, meaning those that are close to the scrapping threshold, number more than 330.
New driving licence rules
Meanwhile, as reported, the new rules provide that driving license applicants need not appear for their driving test at regional offices of the RTA. The rules provide for mechanisms that State governments facilitate accreditation of driving training centres. The mechanism also include publicising the move, and that its officers evaluate sites before according them accreditation.
While this may well be the case, no accreditation applications have been received, according to the State’s Transport Department.
“These rules were issued in 2021. So far we have not received any applications for accreditation. Perhaps people are not finding it economical enough,” an official requesting anonymity said.
While the new rules do not touch upon older, private vehicles, Telangana does have a large number of vehicles that are more than 15 years old. Data shows that the number of vehicles across categories in Telangana is approximately 1,60,81,666. Of this figure, over 1,18,17,135 are two-wheelers and 21,32,256 are cars. The Transport Department pegs the number of private vehicles that are more than 15-years old at approximately 35 lakh, over 21.75% of the total vehicles in the State. Of these 35 lakh, 29 lakh, meaning over 80%, are two-wheelers.
