The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : Sonia rally hits bus commuters

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Saturday, Mar 15, 2008
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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

Sonia rally hits bus commuters

Staff Reporter

ELURU: Scores of APSRTC bus commuters in West Godavari district bore the brunt of the UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi’s visit in East Godavari district.

Even as a large number of RTC buses were diverted for crowd mobilisation for the VVIP’s rally at Jaggampet, several passengers, including women and children, were seen stranded at new bus stand and old bus stand. It proved to be an agonising wait for them for transport to reach their destination. Both the bus stands were overcrowded with the waiting passengers from morning to evening.

According to information, passengers had to wait for not less than a couple of hours to catch the bus bound for their destination in the light of the RTC authorities running skeletal services.

The authorities reportedly hired more than 400 out of the total fleet of 625 buses in the West Godavari region and 132 services out of 107 in the Eluru depot. What was added to the cup of woes for the commuters was that a slew of marriages got coincidentally performed on the day that believed to be an auspicious day.

Marriage specials

In Eluru depot alone, half a dozen buses were operated as marriage specials. It all helped the private transport operators in making a fast buck throughout the day. The passengers made use of whatever the mode of transport available for them, be it taxis, auto rickshaws or private buses without hesitating to pay extra fare. The rescheduling of the Intermediate examination from Friday to Sunday had reduced the intensity of the transport problems to some extent.

Usually, the RTC is supposed to operate Eluru-Vijayawada non-stop services at the rate of each service for every 15 minutes. But the passengers complained there were no buses on the route for 1-2 hours. The passengers, mostly commuting from rural areas on the Bhimavaram-Eluru, Eluru-Ravulapalem and Chintalapudi routes, underwent a traumatic experience for want of sufficient services.

The new bus stand witnessed a heavy rush of passengers even during the noon which was considered to a slack period.

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