Few weeks before Sankranthi, 50 per cent of Andhra Pradesh RTC tickets sold out

By Express News Service

VIJAYAWADA: With just a few weeks left for Sankranthi, around 50 per cent of the regular bus tickets for travelling to cities like Visakhapatnam, Tirupati, Bangalore and Chennai from Hyderabad are almost reserved. However, the list of special services for Christmas and Sankranthi is yet to be announced by APSRTC.

In January this year, the RTC operated 2,135 special buses from Hyderabad to various parts of the State between January 5 and 13 in the by charging 50 per cent extra on the existing fare. Apart from that, 3,020 special buses were operated to ensure hassle-free journey for the passengers after Sankranthi vacation between January 16 to 20. Around Rs 15 crore revenue was earned by the Corporation via operating of special buses.

This time too, the demand for advanced booking is such that buses heading for Vijayawada, Visakhapatnam, Tirupati, Kurnool and Rajahmundry from Hyderabad between January 10 to 15  are almost filled.

“There are maybe five to ten tickets left in each bus operated by APSRTC from Hyderabad to various destinations in the State. How can the passengers, especially middle-class families go to their home towns to celebrate the festival? The officials concerned should announce special services by next week so that people can go to their hometowns to be with their families,” said M Sampath, a private employee.

Meanwhile, RTC officials are claiming that the corporation will operate around 600 buses per day from Hyderabad to various destinations across the State. “At present, we are drafting a report to announce the special services for Sankranthi festival. In this regard, instructions were given to the regional managers of four zones to submit a list of services required from their zone to ferry the passengers. Based on the demand, the number of special services will be announced after forwarding the same to Transport Minister Perni Venkataramaiah for approval,” said a senior RTC official. He added that the procedure may be completed within the next couple of days.

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