Passengers at the Dwaraka Bus Station (RTC Complex) were in a for a pleasant surprise on New Year Day as an announcement was made on the public address system asking them to join in the celebrations. A family from Vizianagaram was randomly selected to cut the cake as other passengers and RTC officials participated.
A representative of Sri Shirdi Sai Baba temple of East Point Colony gave a spiritual touch and distributed 500 laddus (prasadam) to the passengers and others.
Action planAddressing the passengers, Executive Director (Vizianagaram Zone) A. Ramakrishna said that an action plan was prepared to provide cleanliness in the buses and at the bus stations this year and appealed to them to patronise the corporation more.
As a New Year gift to the passengers, an Araku tour package was being launched on January 5. The special bus would leave the RTC Complex at 7:30 a.m. on Sundays and take the passengers on a visit to the Borra Caves, Anantagiri coffee plantations, Araku, Tribal Museum, Padmapuram Gardens and some other places of interest in the Agency areas.
Package tourThe fare for the Araku package tour was fixed at Rs.674 (Deluxe) and Rs.596 (Express) for adults and Rs.534 (Deluxe) and Rs.467 (Express) for children. The fare includes free entry to the Borra Caves, Tribal Museum and Padmapuram Gardens, free lunch, tea and snacks. A special attraction as part of the tour would be a specially arranged ‘Dhimsa’ dance. The bus would return to the city by 9:00 p.m. the same day.
Mr. Ramakrishna said that special emphasis would be given on operation of ‘Palle Velugu’ (rural services) in tune with the needs of the passengers and to increase the occupancy ratio (OR).
Regional Manager Y. Jagadeesh Babu, Deputy Chief Traffic Managers P. Jeevan Prasad (rural) and A. Veeraiah Choudhary (urban) were present.
Later addressing the media, Mr. Ramakrishna said that a Super Luxury bus and an Indra (AC) bus to Hyderabad would be diverted through Steel Plant township and Atchutapuram for the convenience of passengers going from those areas.
Mr. Jagadeesh Babu said that special buses would be operated to Pydi Bhimavaram, Duvvada SEZ and Pharma City to tap the industrial workers, who were now depending on private transport for their transportation needs. He said that 105 new JNNURM buses were expected to arrive in the city by the end of March. A proposal was on the cards to introduce vehicle tracking system (GPS) on these buses to enable passengers to know the position of the buses and their time of arrival.
