APSRTC to run 4,000 special buses to meet Dasara rush

Vijayawada: The APSRTC is going to press into service one hundred electric buses once the government approved the proposal, said vice-chairman and managing director of APSRTC Ch Dwaraka Tirumala Rao.

Addressing the media here on Wednesday, he said the RTC had always been striving to provide better services to the passengers particularly during the festivals like Sankranthi, Vinayaka Chaviti, Dasara and Deepavali. As part of it, during this Dasara the RTC is running 400 special buses to cater to the needs of traveling public to long distance places and inter-district points.

The special bus services would help clear the pre and post-Dasara festival traffic. Out of these 4,000 bus services, 1,383 buses would run from Hyderabad, 277 from Bengaluru, 97 buses from Chennai and the remaining 2,243 services are planned for clearing the passenger traffic from different points within the State.

Referring to the complaint that the RTC is levying higher charges during festivals, he justified the same by stating that these special buses are run with almost no passengers on one way. Even with one-and-half times fare, the RTC still incurs losses, he said.

Anyway, the RTC still runs these buses to relieve the traffic congestions and for the benefit of the passengers who are mostly from the middle class. Referring to the high price of diesel, Dwaraka Tirumala Rao said that this had become a huge burden on the RTC. He appealed to the people to understand the problem.

In spite of the Covid situation, the RTC is managing to pull through the tough times with the cooperation of the employees. The welfare of the employees is also one of the top priorities of the management, he said. The children of the employees are provided with scholarships and other training wherever necessary.