The change has coincided with a protest led by the BRS at Bus Bhavan in Hyderabad, demanding an immediate rollback of the fare hike.
Published Oct 30, 2025 | 7:25 PM ⚊ Updated Oct 30, 2025 | 7:25 PM
Recent hikes in the RTC bus fare are impacting daily lives in Hyderabad
Synopsis: TSRTC’s ₹5-₹10 fare hike per stage and 20-30% rise in monthly passes burdens Hyderabad commuters. Ordinary pass now ₹1,400, Metro Deluxe ₹1,800; student passes up ₹300-₹500. Daily riders like watchmen and attendants face ₹500+ extra monthly. BRS protests demand rollback, highlighting inequality amid free women’s travel and poor bus services.
The recent fare hike by the Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (TSGRTC) has triggered growing discontent among regular bus users across Hyderabad. The revision, which came into effect earlier this month, raised ticket prices by ₹5 to ₹10 per stage on city routes and increased monthly bus pass fares by nearly 20–30 percent.
An ordinary monthly pass now costs around ₹1,400, up from ₹1,150, while a Metro Deluxe pass costs about ₹1,800. For students, the hike in concessional passes has been particularly steep—between ₹300 and ₹500 more, depending on the distance slab.
The change has coincided with a protest led by the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) at Bus Bhavan in Hyderabad, demanding an immediate rollback of the fare hike. Commuters and students alike, speaking to South First, say the burden is being unfairly shifted onto the public, many of whom depend on buses as their only affordable mode of travel.
Venkataiah, a 40-year-old watchman at a Jubilee Hills shop, travels daily from Chintal Basthi to Jubilee Hills Checkpost, about 7 km. He often walks to the Pension Office Bus Stand to board the 222A to reach work.
“I make about ₹20,000 a month. I only get one day off a week. That means that I have to spend ₹40 for 26 days of the month—it comes up to about ₹1,000 or more a month that I have to spend on travel,” he told South First.
However, with the recent fare revision, his daily travel cost has gone up. “Now I have to pay about ₹60 for that same thing. It only started this month, and I haven’t calculated how much the total would be, but doesn’t that mean I now have to spend at least ₹500 more?” he asked.
For Venkataiah, the issue is not just the price, but the imbalance between what he pays and what he receives in return.
“I am paying this for buses that I most times don’t even get to sit in. To the government, which gives away so much for free, it might not seem like a big deal, but having to pay 50 percent more to make an already barely sufficient income is becoming more and more frustrating,” he stated.
Manoj, 24, works as an attender at an office near Raheja Mindspace, about 16 km away from his residence in Koti. His commute involves two buses every day at the price of ₹45 one way.
“I spend about ₹90 up and down each day for travelling to work alone and switching two buses. I earn about ₹16,000 because I just started a few months ago. I already spend close to ₹2,000 a month on just travel, which is already too much for me. Now, this month I’ve had to shell out an extra ₹20 up and down—that is about ₹500 more,” he said.
He adds that while his company is helping, the change highlights the inequality among workers. “Luckily, my company seems willing to sponsor a monthly pass because my superiors and the owners are good. But not everyone is that lucky. In all honesty, I think I’ll move closer to the place, but to move also, I need money,” he reported.
The fare hike, Manoj says, doesn’t just affect his pocket—it forces difficult choices about where and how to live.
Vamsi Krishna, a 19-year-old BTech student at Gokaraju Rangaraju Institute, travels from Raj Bhavan Road to the college, about 17 km away. “They suddenly increased the student pass prices this year,” he said.
“My seniors told me that the pass costs around ₹1,100 for the ordinary one and about ₹1,400 for the metro deluxe one. Subsequently, when getting my pass, I only asked for ₹1,500 to get the Metro Deluxe one because the rush hour is preposterous in Hyderabad. However, when it was time for payment, I realised that ₹1,400 is what the ordinary pass costs this year. The prices were hiked. Call it bad luck, call it whatever, I wasn’t able to contact my family for extra and had to settle,” he recalled.
“I still consider myself somewhat lucky because had my parents given me the money, I might’ve still gotten the Metro Deluxe pass. However, a lot of people do not have that option. Imagine somebody poor having to shell out an extra couple of hundred for the student pass. It might not seem like a big difference to you and me, but I’m sure it means something to them,” he noted
Similarly, Raghunandhan, a 22-year-old engineering student from Himayatnagar, travels 17 km each day, often taking the 288 route. He says the fare hike feels inconsistent with the government’s welfare policies.
“I understand the point of view that the free bus scheme is supposed to empower women who would otherwise, in many cases, not be earning for themselves. But the empowerment here seems to be disproportionate. As students, we are also dependents, often with no source of income,” he held.
He argues that operational cost increases shouldn’t be passed on to young commuters.
“When you increase our bus pass prices, it tends to seem hypocritical. You’re citing an increase in operational expense, but that is not our fault. I understand inflation is a thing, but you have about half the population travelling for free—don’t make it seem like males are sexist for asking about why they have to pay extra now,” he said.
The difference is not marginal, he points out. “In all honesty, having to pay ₹1,800 for the same pass I paid ₹1,400 for last year is uncomfortable. It is not that my family wouldn’t pay, it is the fact that we have to pay in the first place,” he held.
(Edited by Amit Vasudev)
