Taking a cue from the Indian Railways, several private bus operators are going all out to woo passengers by ensuring amenities. Accordingly, private operators are providing free Wi-Fi service in buses. And, this initiative has enabled them to increase the occupancy ratio, according to operators here.
Using their laptops, smartphones and tablets, passengers’ can browse Internet soon after boarding bus and continue it till midnight while watching recently released movies on LED screen. “We want to provide passenger-friendly facilities in buses and introduction of free Wi-Fi service is one such idea,” said Yamini Travels proprietor Ch. Rama Koteswara Rao.
The Wi-Fi service was introduced between Vijayawada and Bangalore route to enable passengers working in IT and ITeS sector use it effectively. “The occupancy ratio has gone up to 80 per cent after we started providing service five months ago. With the help of a modem and dongle, we are providing the facility spending over Rs. 3,000 per month,” he said.
A few other bus operators have also chalked out plans to provide the same services to passengers travelling from Hyderabad to Vijayawada. A.P. Private Bus Operators Association honorary president H.S.C Bose said a few operators were facilitating passengers to use free service for the first one hour and later collecting charges.
The RTC has also planned to introduce similar services in Garuda, Garuda Plus and Vennala buses on Vijayawada, Hyderabad, Tirupati and Bengaluru routes from April 1. But the plan failed to take off .
“As of now, we did not get any instructions from the head office to launch Wi-Fi service in our buses,” said a senior RTC official.
