The Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (APSRTC) has managed to cut its losses by around Rs. 116 crore in the quarter that ended December 31, from Rs. 538 crore that it had sustained in the fiscal 2014-15, said its Managing Director N. Sambasiva Rao.
Expanding on the subject, he said that during Q1 and Q2 of the current financial year, the corporation had to contend with increased spend on salaries recommended by the Pay Revision Commission. But in Q 3, 2015, thanks to the reduction in diesel prices and increasing internal efficiency, they had managed to bring down the losses.
At a press conference here on Thursday, he said they would operate 2,698 special buses to handle the Sankranthi rush to different destinations including Visakhapatnam, Rajahmundry, Kakinada, Amalapuram, Guntur, Ongole, Nellore, Tirupathi, Kadapa, Anantapur and Kurnool from the twin cities. While the scheduled services would leave from the Mahatma Gandhi Bus Station, the specials would leave from BHEL, ECIL, S.R. Nagar, Beeramguda, L.B. Nagar and Jeedimatla.
Replying to questions, Mr. Rao said they were firming up plans to induct over 1,000 new buses into its fleet in the financial year 2016-17, including about 225 to 250 air-conditioned buses as the occupancy ratio in the A/c buses was steadily on the rise. Depending upon the rush of passengers, officials would draw from the spare buses that numbered slightly over 700. “We have 126 depots and at any given point in time there are six buses ready for service,” he stated.
As for the APSRTC’s development plans in Amaravathi, the State’s new capital, he said that plans on the drawing board include two depots (South and North) and nine swank terminals that would stand out for their design and convenience of passengers. Also, the required infrastructure in the form of office space was almost ready, adding that the corporation’s head office would be completely functional in the new State by March 31.
More than 2,600 services will be plied to clear rush during Sankranti festival
