APSRTC ready for free bus travel scheme rollout
The announcement was made during a review meeting held with officials including Chairman of Vizianagaram Zone Donnu Dora, Zonal ED KS Brahmananda Reddy, ED (Operations) A. Appalaraju, ED (Engineering) T. Chengal Reddy and Visakhapatnam Region DPTO B. Appala Naidu for all the RTC officials of Zone-1.
Later interacting with the media, Mr. Konakalla Narayana and Mr. Dwaraka Tirumala Rao said that women will be able to travel free in five categories of APSRTC buses, excluding air-conditioned and high-end buses. Additionally, free travel will not be allowed on ghat road routes in view of possible challenges. 'We anticipate tremendous demand from women passengers and there could be overcrowding of the buses. It can impact the safety of passengers and the efficiency of operations on the ghat roads,' they said.
Additionally, the free scheme does not apply to buses operating to Tirumala, Simhachalam, and other hill temples. When asked about tribal women in Agency areas, the Chairman said that free travel will be allowed within Agency areas, but not between Agency areas to towns and cities and vice-versa.
Of the 11,500 APSRTC buses operating in Andhra Pradesh, women can avail free travel facility in about 75% of the buses. The scheme involves an additional expenditure of ₹2,000 crore to the Corporation, which will be reimbursed by the State government. At present the occupancy rate in the RTC buses is 69% and it is estimated to go up to 94% or even 100% with the implementation of the free travel scheme.
To address potential shortage of buses, the APSRTC has sanctioned 1,050 Electric Buses (EB s), with 750 EB s expected to arrive in the first phase. Transgender individuals are also eligible for the scheme. Women availing the free travel facility must carry their Aadhaar card or any other government-issued ID card confirming that they are natives of Andhra Pradesh.
Mr. Narayana added that the preparatory meetings have already held in Tirupati, Guntur, Vijayawada and in Visakhapatnam. RTC Depot Managers, overseeing drivers, conductors and mechanics, will play a key role in the implementation of the scheme by ensuring proper maintenance of the buses, bus stations and amenities at the bus stations.
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