Hyderabad: Autos Overloaded with Students as Schools Reopen

Hyderabad: With classes in schools across Hyderabad reopening, thousands of children are cramming into autorickshaws hired on monthly contracts, many of which are blatantly exceeding the six-student limit set by the Road Transport Authority (RTA).

Though drivers effectively stand in as guardians, eyewitnesses report scores of overloaded vehicles weaving through traffic while enforcement teams are nowhere in sight. Hyderabad has about 1, 05,000 autorickshaws within Greater Hyderabad limits, and some drivers specialise in school runs because the steady income appeals to them.

Mohammed Ibrahim Ahmad of the Garib Autorickshaw Drivers’ Union said the union regularly warns members that carrying extra passengers “can be fatal in a mishap”, yet demand and price incentives persist: parents pay roughly Rs 1,500 a month when only six children ride, but fares drop to about Rs 1,200 if more are squeezed in, helping drivers cover fuel costs.

School administrations insist transport arrangements are strictly between parents and drivers, though they advise families to choose safer options; Uma Maheshwara Rao, Hyderabad district president of the Telangana Recognised School Managements’ Association, noted that many campuses offer their own buses but parents “still prefer autorickshaws”, and some even arrive on motorbikes overloaded with children.

According to the RTA, a recent statewide safety drive resulted in 95 violation cases, including fitness lapses, and 75 vehicles were seized; 40 of those cases were registered within Greater Hyderabad alone, yet parents and activists say consistent on-the-spot checks remain the only way to curb rampant overloading before tragedy strikes.