The Andhra Pradesh Road Transport Corporation (APSRTC) bus stand is going to get five new platforms soon as part of the modernisation of the premises.
Modernisation works is going on at a brisk pace on the premises and the authorities say that the new platforms will help accommodate more buses at a time, apart from ensuring a free flow of traffic. The bus station is being given a facelift to woo the passengers, thereby improving the occupancy ratio in the RTC services, they say.
“The modernisation work will be completed by the end of next month at any cost,” said RTC Regional Manager Sk. Adam Saheb, after inspecting the ongoing work of raising the height of the low-lying platforms to make it easy for commuters to board the buses, here on Monday. “We want to give a new look to the bus station and ensure a pleasant ambience for passengers during their waiting hours here,” he said.
The bus stand will get some improved passengers’ amenities and security too. “All the old chairs on the premises will be replaced by new ones that are imported from China,” the Regional Manager said.
On the security front, he said, as many as 32 closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras had been installed at the bus station, an initiative taken by the 100 shopkeepers on the premises to ensure the electronic surveillance system in place.
Meanwhile, Transport Minister Sidda Raghava Rao has said that the government is keen on putting the commercial property belonging to the RTC across the State to use to generate additional revenue for the cash-strapped corporation. “We will go for construction of commercial complexes and even multiplexes wherever possible,” he said. Meanwhile, Staff and Workers Federation Prakasam Region secretary M. Ayyappa Reddy said that they wanted the government and the APSRTC management to replace more than 5,000 old buses in its fleet.
The rural bus services those were withdrawn citing losses should be restored in the public interest, he said.
The works will be completed by the end of next month at any cost
- Sk. Adam Saheb,RTC Regional Manager
