The Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (APSRTC) will operate 6,795 special buses during Sankranti in order to accommodate the festive rush.
In a statement on January 5 (Friday), corporation Vice-Chairman and Managing Director Ch. Dwaraka Tirumala Rao said no additional charges would be collected from commuters using the special bus services. Before the festival (January 6 to 14), the APSRTC will operate 3,570 special buses, of which 1,.600 buses will be towards Hyderabad, 250 for Bengaluru, 40 for Chennai, 300 for Vijayawada, 290 for Visakhapatnam, 230 for Rajamahendravaram, 70 for Tirupati and 790 other special buses towards different key routes. For the return journey after the festival, as many as 3,225 special buses will be pressed into service from January 16 to 18.
Pointing to the fact that the corporation had drifted from its past practice of collecting additional fare from people travelling in the special buses operated during festivals and other occasions from 2022, he said it had not only increased patronage for the APSRTC buses but the private bus operators were also forced to do away with the practice of jacking up the ticket fares manifold and fleecing the public.
He said people who book their tickets in advance for their return journey by APSRTC buses would be given 10% discount on both sides. Claiming a good response, he said all the tickets on ordinary bus services were already sold out from January 10 to January 13, 2024.
He said for timely and smooth operation of these special buses, teams of officials, supervisors and security staff had been deployed in main centres and in Hyderabad. People seeking information about buses or for reporting about problem, if any, could call the 24x7 call centre either on 149 or 08662570005.
