This Sankranthi, APSRTC to run 6,970 special buses, tickets hiked by 50%

Vijayawada: With the festive season just a week away, the Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (APSRTC) has decided to operate 6,970 special buses from 7 to 13 January this Sankranthi. The special buses will serve passengers travelling to Telangana, Karnataka, Visakhapatnam, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, and Tamil Nadu. With 35% extra buses running this year, APSRTC will charge 50% more than the normal fare for the special service.

The APSRTC MD, Dwaraka Tirumala Rao, said as the diesel rate has gone up by 60% and since the buses will have to return empty, APSRTC has decided to increase the ticket price.

About 60% of regular buses and 50% of special buses have been reserved so far. Mr. Rao said the buses will depart from the busiest areas and if there are more passengers at colonies and intersections, the buses will depart from those areas.

Meanwhile, 4,145 special services will run from 8 to 14 January with 1,500 bus services to Hyderabad, 650 to Visakhapatnam, 250 to Vijayawada, 100 to Bangalore, and 45 to Chennai. The other 1,600 services were assigned to district centers and towns.

The RTC operated a total of 2,982 special buses last year. It will run 2,852 special bus services for those returning after the Sankranthi festival from 15-17 January.

On a regular basis, APSRTC runs 4,000 buses in a day.