Hyderabad Metro-RTC Pass Cut to Rs 4,000 From Rs 8,500

What the New Pass Gets You

Under the revised daily pass of Rs 275, Rs 200 goes to Metro travel and Rs 75 to RTC travel. It allows up to four single journeys a day.

The new monthly pass of Rs 4,000 is split into Rs 3,000 for the Metro and Rs 1,000 for RTC buses. It allows a maximum of 50 round trips a month, which works out to about Rs 80 per round trip, compared with roughly Rs 170 under the old price.

The biggest change is on the Metro side. Its share of the monthly pass has dropped from Rs 7,000 to Rs 3,000, while the RTC share has come down from Rs 1,500 to Rs 1,000.

Why the Original Pass Failed

The common pass was launched jointly by the Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (TGSRTC) and Hyderabad Metro Rail Limited (HMRL) to make daily commuting easier. It was launched on October 2 and lets commuters travel on Metro trains and TGSRTC city buses within the Outer Ring Road (ORR) limits, except Pushpak services.

The idea of one pass for two modes was welcomed, but the price was not. Commuters called the charges unrealistic and pointed out that the pass would cost more than buying daily tickets, even on long routes. For a product meant to save money and effort, that was a basic design flaw: regular riders had no reason to buy it.

The government responded fairly quickly. On October 12, Ponnam Prabhakar said the state had decided to review the fares after public complaints that they were too high. A series of meetings with senior officials followed, ending in Friday's cut.

What It Means for Hyderabad

For a daily commuter combining a Metro ride with a bus connection, saving Rs 4,500 a month makes a real difference to the household budget. The pass now has a fair chance of doing what it was designed for: encouraging people to choose public transport over private vehicles in a city with heavy traffic.

The minister said the decision will bring great relief to ordinary citizens. Whether the pass now attracts large numbers of regular users will become clear in the weeks after November 8.

With inputs from IANS