If Hyderabad wants to avoid Bengaluru’s gridlock or Delhi’s daily traffic paralysis, it needs bold solutions, and it needs them now.Urban planners say the solution lies not merely in building more flyovers, but in adopting a multi-pronged approach that strengthens public transport, improves traffic management, and reforms urban mobility policies.Fortifying public transportWithout investment and integrated planning, the city risks locking itself into permanent congestion, experts warn.They unanimously stress that expanding and strengthening public transport is the most sustainable solution. With fewer than 3,000 RTC buses on the roads, around 80 MMTS services a day, and metro trains already running at near capacity during peak hours, Hyderabad’s public transport network is struggling to keep pace with a rapidly expanding city.Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (TGSRTC) remains the backbone of city mobility, yet its fleet strength is far below what a metropolitan city of this size requires. Experts suggest Hyderabad needs at least 5,000–6,000 city buses to provide adequate coverage and frequency. “Creating bus stops within 500 metres of every residential pocket is essential,” said a transport planner. Dedicated bus lanes on high-density corridors such as the IT stretch, Mehdipatnam– Lakdikapul, Uppal–Secunderabad, and Kukatpally–Ameerpet could make buses more reliable than private vehicles, he said.Scale up MMTS servicesImproving MMTS connectivity and frequency could go a long way. Post-pandemic, the daily footfall in MMTS services slipped from 1.6 lakh to less than 50,000. “The time gap between services should be 15 to 20 mins (8 am–10:30 am) and (4:30 pm–7:30 pm). Dedicated MMTS platforms at Secunderabad and halting trains in the middle of the platform is the need of the hour,” says P Bharadwaj of the Suburban Trains and Bus Travellers Association, said.Accelerate expansion of metro railImproving MMTS connectivity and increasing train frequency could reduce dependency on private vehicles. Currently, the MMTS network, with around 80 services daily, remains underutilised due to low frequency. Post-pandemic, the daily footfall in MMTS services slipped from 1.6 lakh to less than 50,000.According to the Suburban Travellers Association, increasing connectivity of trains from Cherlapalli in all directions, such as Hyderabad, Umdanagar, and Ramachandrapuram/Lingampally (via Neredmet and Suchitra), along with a few services to Lingampalli (via Malkajgiri, Secbad, Begumpet) and a few services to Medchal (via Radhakrishna Nagar, Bolarum), will drive footfall.“There is a need to increase the frequency of MMTS trains during the rush hour, with a time gap of 15 to 20 mins between the services (8 am 10 : 30 am) and (4:30 pm 7:30 pm). Dedicated platforms for MMTS in both directions at Secunderabad and stopping each service in the middle of the platform is the need of the hour, as passengers now have to go to the end to board any MMTS at Secunderabad,” P Bharadwaj, member of the Suburban Trains and Bus Travellers Association, said.
