Free bus scheme to boost ridership, but Vijayawada's bus fleet size stays static
Free Bus Scheme
from Aug15, no measures are being taken to augment the city bus fleet in Vijayawada to accommodate the anticipated surge in passengers, particularly women. Currently, Vijayawada has around 350 city buses plying its roads, and the fleet is likely to remain the same despite the expected increase in passenger demand following the scheme's implementation.
"Vijayawada city will receive 100 electric buses out of 750 e-buses sanctioned to Andhra Pradesh under the PM e-Bus Seva scheme. However, the city bus fleet will remain at 350 as the existing old diesel-run city buses will be phased out under the scrap policy to reduce the high diesel cost burden and limit pollution levels in the city," said
APSRTC NTR district
deputy chief traffic manager (DyCTM) Sai Charan Teja.
All the CNG city buses allocated to Vijayawada under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) were phased out after completing their service life. Currently, all city buses are diesel-run, contributing significantly to air pollution in the city.
Vijayawada, falling under the NTR district jurisdiction, operates 163 city ordinary and 106 Metro Luxury services across the Governorpet-1, Governorpet-2, Vidyadharapuram, and Ibrahimpatnam bus depots, while the remaining city buses are operated from Gannavaram and Vuyyuru depots, now under Krishna district.
"Currently, the average occupancy ratio (OR) in city buses stands at 60 per cent, and we anticipate the OR to surge to 95 per cent or even 100 per cent after the free bus scheme rolls out for women. To manage the extra passenger rush during peak hours, RTC will rope in private school buses and run auxiliary services," another RTC official explained.
"Not inducting new buses into the city fleet will create more traffic chaos and push working men towards purchasing more motor vehicles, significantly choking city roads with pollution and traffic. When regular male passengers who travel daily by city bus find it difficult to get a seat or even a place to stand inside the buses, it will discourage them from using city buses and drive them towards private transport," said M V Anjaneyulu, Secretary of the Tax Payers Association of Vijayawada.
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