Hyderabad, April 16 (IANS) The Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (TSRTC) has decided to reduce city bus services in Greater Hyderabad between 12 noon and 4 p.m. from Tuesday in view of the scorching heat.

As the occupancy rate has come down during the peak summer heat hours, the TSRTC authorities decided to ply fewer buses.

TSRTC's Greater Hyderabad Zone Executive Director V. Venkateshwarlu said the decision was taken in view of the drop in number of passengers.

The state-owned transport body also cited the alert issued by the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) to people to be cautious in view of the heat wave conditions. The municipal authorities have advised people not to go out unless inevitable.

The TSRTC officials said additional services will be operated from 5 a.m. and after 4 p.m.

Late-night services are also being extended until midnight to ensure continuous bus availability for public convenience.

The public transport operator has not clarified on the number of services to be cut down during day time. The TSRTC city region has 2,550 buses and the authorities may not operate 50 per cent of them during peak summer heat hours.

Parts of Telangana are experiencing intense heat wave conditions. In Hyderabad, the mercury soared past the 40-degree Celsius mark on Monday.