Gen Z Telangana women lead the rush to Tirupati, data shows

Within Telangana, Hyderabad is the dominant origin point for this travel wave.

Hyderabad: Women under 30 are reshaping pilgrimage travel out of Telangana this season, with Gen Z female travellers accounting for 48 per cent of all women bus bookings from the state, the highest share among any demographic group, data from online ticketing platform redBus showed on Monday, June 22.

The numbers come amid a broader 22 per cent surge in bus bookings from Andhra Pradesh and Telangana in the week ended June 20, compared to the same period last year, driven in large part by the rush to Tirupati around the Jyesthabhishekam festivities.

Hyderabad at the centre

Within Telangana, Hyderabad is the dominant origin point for this travel wave. MGBS Bus Stand, Kukatpally and Gachibowli are the city’s busiest boarding points, with Hyderabad-Vijayawada and Hyderabad-Bengaluru topping the traffic charts. Hyderabad-Nellore and Hyderabad-Chennai are also seeing strong outbound movement, reflecting the capital’s outsized role in regional intercity mobility.

Across genders, the 18–30 age group accounts for 47 per cent of total seat share from the two states – a sign that pilgrimage travel is no longer the preserve of older devotees.

Comfort over cost

Travellers out of Hyderabad are not cutting corners on comfort. AC buses account for 65 per cent of all bookings, while sleeper services corner 58 per cent of the total, consistent with the overnight distances involved on the Hyderabad-Tirupati and Hyderabad-Bengaluru corridors.

Smaller towns are also punching above their weight. As many as 37 per cent of travellers originate from Tier 3 locations, even as Tier 1 cities like Hyderabad account for 42 per cent of departures.