End of December 2014, we were invited to talk at Do Din , a techno arts festival held every year in Hyderabad by Hyderabad Urban Lab . We were excited at the moment we were asked to talk about our love of Z . Well , the presentation that day dint go well owing to our unpreparedness. so, here is what we actually wanted to tell every one that day .
what is love of Z ?
love of Z is a blog run by three people who believe state operated public transport in andhra pradesh and telangana deserve more space on internet than what they have now . through this blog, we want to spread love and celebrate public transport operated by the corporation(s) we love .
Come march 21 and first 8 kilometers of hyderabad metro will be functional . YAY ! time to party right . I just cant wait for the mighty rail to walk in to the gullies of yousufguda basti . How many of you are excited about the mighty metro ? finally we are getting rapid mass transit right. Oh wait don't we already have MMTS .
Metro is saying it will transport Hyderabad to future, So what is "transporting" Hyderabad now ? Not the metro obviously!
Introducing... The cheap and best mode of transport connecting the east and west of the city. With low floor buses and comfortable cushion seats, travel has never been this easy. Just sit back and enjoy your ride through the chord of the city. Don't worry if you don't get a seat because standing is very comfortable with increased clear heights and ergonomically designed bars to hold. While you enjoy your journey, don't worry about the security as we assure you ample protection with trained drivers, conductors and two CCTV cameras . Equipped with an efficient GPS system and integrated with the Hyderabad ITS, get next stop announcements in three different languages. Seamlessly integrated with major intercity bus terminals at LB Nagar and Dilsukhnagar, transfers to other Major centres have been simplified with major node connections at LB Nagar, Dilsukhnagar, Koti, Abids, Lakdikapul, Ameerpet and Kukatpally. Good connectivity to the long distance terminal at Nampally provided with proposal for bus terminal at Miyapur underway. MMTS integration included at Malakpet, Lakdikapul, Khairatabad and Bharatnagar. The route will be provided with 49 stops located at a distance of 1 km from the previous. Each stop will have a bus shelter with adequate seating facility and all major nodes will have GPS enabled information boards displaying the time of next bus. Additionally 33% seats reserved on priority basis for women. The differently abled can access buses aided by special ramps provided on entry and exit doors and senior citizens will have seats reserved. Special one day passes can be availed at ₹ 70 which can be used for the services across the city. Monthly passes can be availed at ₹ 900.Two depots located at strategic locations, hayathnagar and bhel on the two ends , plans are on to extend the depots to muthangi on one end and choutuppal on the other making it probably the longest mixed route bus service in India.Making the most of mixed route services, relieving services and ac buses have been pressed in to free the rush between major nodes.
Should we resort to this kind of branding and false promises to make people believe they can reach their destinations safely ? Of all the things metro is saying it is doing for the first time, most are already being done by a very humble rtc. with less than 30 depots and just over 3500 buses, Buses account for more or less than 40% public transport trips made in Hyderabad. The said route 218 traverses exactly through the same route as metro. We never would say Hyderabad does not deserve mass transport but what we question are the priorities. Why does a corporation which has been a life line of city for so long have to wait for the central government's peanuts at a time when Hundreds of acres of prime land is being given away for metro.
CTS for HMA has raised the hopes .. We hope all of the good stuff said in the plan are executed and the corporation does not have to go around begging for property. It is high time public transport is considered a service and not a source of revenue for the state government.
Closing off , why do we have to wait for metro when we already have metro express, deluxe and luxury !
