Hyderabad may soon see double-decker buses running on city roads again. Minister K.T. Rama Rao set the ball rolling with his post on Twitter on Saturday, reminiscing of travelling in the iconic double-decker bus to school.
It all started off with a post from Twitter user Shaker Hussain, who had tagged Rama Rao and Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao on an old photograph of a double decker bus on Tank Bund, and asked if the service could be resumed for tourists if not as a regular bus service.
Replying to this, Rama Rao asked transport minister Puvvada Ajay Kumar if there was any chance of bringing back the double-deckers. The transport minister replied that he would speak to the authorities to look into the
possibilities.
Rama Rao’s post read: “I have many fond memories of riding the double-decker bus on my way to St. George’s Grammar School at Abids. Not sure why they were taken off the roads. Any chance we can bring them back?”
Asked about the possibility of reintroducing the buses, Sunil Sharma, TS Road Transport Corporation incharge managing director, told that a meeting with all stakeholders will take place on this next week.
The buses were discontinued about 15 years ago due to operational costs, according to Venkateshwarlu, TSRTC executive director. He said that running the double-deckers was not economically viable when compared to the regular buses. Nearly 100 double-decker buses were operational earlier, he added.