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Vijayawada APSRTC gears up for summer

Plans to introduce Veera luxury buses on city routes

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Chandrasekhar Vijayawada
Last Updated : Feb 06 2013 | 8:20 AM IST
In a bid to wean off the city commuters from private bus services and city autorickshaws, particularly during this summer, The Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (APSRTC), Vijayawada region, is lining up new schemes to attract passengers.
 
The corporation's new schemes include launching of 32 online reservation counters and providing video and FM radio services in all the city buses.
 
The RTC officials have also made arrangements to ply luxury Veera buses equipped with videos, and air-conditioned buses with reduced fares for the benefit of passengers from low-income groups on the districts and suburban routes.
 
Speaking to Business Standard, Sitapathi Malla, regional manager, APSRTC, said, "The Vijayawada region, which covers the entire length and breadth of Krishna district, plies 1,275 vehicles, transports 5.5 lakh passengers along 4.16 lakh km everyday and earns a revenue of Rs 48-53 lakh (about Rs 183 crore a year)."
 
"The region is planning to introduce Veera luxury buses on the city routes. Two Veera buses have already been introduced and six more would be pressed into service soon," he said. For the first time in the country, city buses in Vijayawada would be equipped with video and audio facilities, he added.
 
In the first phase, videos would be installed in 15 city buses. This would later be extended to other buses. Private FM service, which would soon be coming up in the city, would be provided in ordinary buses, he said.
 
Sitapathi said that double doors would be provided in the buses on all routes to make boarding and alighting easy.
 
"The last row of the seats would be removed to make provision for keeping luggage. Air-conditioned buses with reduced fares would be plied on express and district routes. AC buses would be run between Vijayawada and Shirdi, Visakhapatnam and Mumbai, and Machilipatnam and Hyderabad," he said.
 
A special marketing cell has also been set up (No: 9848782557). The centre would work round-the-clock to provide all RTC services under one roof, he said.

 
 

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First Published: Apr 16 2005 | 12:00 AM IST

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