Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu on Friday said that AP State Road Transport Corporation (APSRTC) bus stations in all the 13 districts would be linked to the Pandit Nehru Bus Station (PNBS) here soon.
Passenger-friendly
Speaking after inaugurating nine new premium buses under the brand name ‘Amaravati’, Mr. Naidu said dynamic policies were being adopted to introduce reforms in APSRTC towards its passenger-friendly endeavour.
He said that of the 15 ‘Amaravati’ buses allocated to the Vijayawada depot, nine were being put to use now while the remaining would be brought into use on the occasion of Sankranthi.
Initially, 45 ‘Amaravati’ buses are planned to be operated on various routes.
Of them, 15 are of Scania-make and the remaining 30 vehicles are the latest models of Volvo. The cost of each Scania and Volvo bus is Rs. 97.43 lakh while the total project cost is Rs. 43.84 crore.
Both Scania and Volvo buses are manufactured in Sweden and these vehicles are proposed to be operated between Vijayawada, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Visakhapatnam, Kakinada, Chennai, Tirupati, Kadapa and Nellore.
Surveillance cameras
The ultra-modern Amaravati vehicles have two surveillance cameras installed inside the bus the recordings of which could be made use of in the event of an untoward incident.
Auto manual transmission system
The system has the facility to store video recordings pertaining to 15 days. The new buses also have fire detection and suppression system and have an engine room and luggage boot besides an emergency exit door. The vehicle is also equipped with an auto manual transmission system.
Earlier, APSRTC Vice-Chancellor and Managing Director N. Sambasiva Rao explained to the Chief Minister about the slew of measures initiated by the organisation to improve facilities to its clients, through a power point presentation. He then showed Mr. Naidu the newly-set up video conference hall established on the premises of PNBS for linking of the bus stations.
The RTC has in its fleet Vennela, Garuda Plus, Garuda, Indra, Super Luxury, Deluxe and Express buses and ‘Amaravati’ buses are the latest addition.
