APSRTC needs 8,000 more buses, says Transport Minister
Occupancy ratio is bound to rise once the free travel scheme is implemented, says M. Ramprasad Reddy, blames previous government for ‘neither purchasing new buses nor repairing existing ones’
Transport Minister M. Ramprasad Reddy addressing a press conference in Vijayawada on Friday.
| Photo Credit: G.N. Rao
There is a need to increase the Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (APSRTC) fleet size by at least 8,000 buses in order to ensure effective delivery of services, Transport Minister M. Ramprasad Reddy said.
Addressing a press conference on August 9 (Friday), the Minister said that in the last five years, the YSRCP government had neither purchased any new buses nor had it repaired any damaged buses.
“The policies of the previous government left the Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (APSRTC) debilitated. The focus of our government would be to strengthen the corporation by addressing issues that have been hindering its growth,” Mr. Ramprasad Reddy said.
Referring to the proposed free bus travel to be implemented for women in the State, he said there was a need to buy new buses as the occupancy ratio was bound to increase once the scheme came into force.
Of the current 10,000 buses in the APSRTC’s fleet, 8,000 belong to the APSRTC, while the remaining 2,000 buses are hired vehicles, he informed, adding that 1,400 new buses were being introduced. He asserted that purchase of the buses was being done in a transparent manner. Annually, nearly 800 to 1,000 outdated buses were being scrapped from the fleet, he said.
Speaking about the 100 electric buses operating in the State, he said Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu was keen on ensuring that a majority of the buses included in the APSRTC fleet henceforth are electric buses. He said the government wanted to achieve the target of an “accident-free Andhra Pradesh” and added that the safety of commuters would not be compromised under any circumstances. “Our focus is on weeding out outdated buses and only operating those vehicles that are in good condition,” he said.
The Minister accused the YSRCP government of “neglecting the Amaravati brand of buses because they were named after the new capital chosen earlier by the TDP government. We will augment the Amaravati brand and add more buses in the category,” he said.
He said that even though the YSRCP government had merged the APSRTC with the State government, the issues faced by the corporation’s employees were yet to be addressed.
Replying to a query, he said the TDP government was committed to fulfilling its election promises. “Our government has started disbursing pensions, released the notification for recruitment of teachers through DSC, has set the ball rolling for undertaking skill census, and this August 15, plans to reopen Anna Canteens, for which ISCON’s Akshayapatra has been roped in,” he said, adding that the free bus travel scheme would also be a reality very soon.
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Andhra Pradesh
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Vijayawada
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public transport