Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (TSRTC) Chairman Somarapu Satyanarayana said the TSRTC could press into service between 4,000 and 5,000 buses for the Telangana Rashtra Samithi’s Pragathi Nivedana Sabha, but no concession in fare would be given.
Mr. Satyanaraya was addressing a gathering of mediapersons on Wednesday at the Bus Bhavan. “We will not give the buses for free. We will not give any concession,” Mr. Satyanarayana said, clarifying these would be non-essential buses.
Mr. Satyanarayana sought to refute allegations of misappropriation of funds which trade unions had levelled against TSRTC in-charge Financial Advisor Swarna Sankaran. He said these unions were being harsh with her and pointed out that any grievance should be brought to his attention. Comparing the Andhra Pradesh Road Transport Corporation (APSRTC) and the TSRTC, Mr. Satyanarayana claimed the latter was doing better than the former. He said the APSRTC had smaller city operations as compared to the TSRTC.
“The APSRTC charges ₹52 per km, whereas the TSRTC charges ₹44 per km. And we have also paid the arrears to our staff,” he said.
Touching upon the hike in fare, Mr. Satyanarayana said in the past five years, there has been an increase in ticket prices by only 10% as compared to 50% when the previous government was in power.
