The AP State Road Transport Corporation’s (APSRTC’s) new initiative of online bus pass disbursal has fallen foul of student unions, which complain that it takes longer than the manual system and is in fact a design by the transport utility to cut down on the number of subsidised bus passes.
APSRTC officials, however, dismiss that notion, saying that the teething problems affecting the initiative have been overcome, and the new system should make it easier for students to get bus passes now.
“We thought the new system would spare us the long waits in queues at the Pandit Nehru Bus Station to secure passes. Earlier, officials would distribute passes till the last student in the queue was served even if it meant working till late in the evening. In the new system, only a limited number of applications are being accepted,” said L. Lakshmi, a final-year engineering student. Moreover, minor slips in the application forms used to be corrected and accepted by the officials. The online system does not allow such improvisation.
The student unions see a larger conspiracy in all this. “In the name of reforms, APSRTC is systematically implementing its agenda of doing away with concessions given to students. It is part of a bigger ploy to privatise the corporation,” alleged Navaneetam Sambasiva Rao, state general secretary of the All-India Youth Federation (AIYF).
Giving credence to such notions is the demand that students furnish their Aadhaar cards, which not all of them have. The transport utility is using such ruses to cull the number of passes it issues, in order to reduce the burden of subsidies on it, said Naresh Krishna, the Akhila Bharatiya Vidyardhi Parishad’s (ABVP’s) organising secretary. Staff posted at the online bus pass counters have also been accused of being non-cooperative. “In fact, it is taking longer now for students to get their passes than earlier,” said Progressive Democratic Students Union state president A. Ravichandra.
However, RTC Regional Manager P.V. Rama Rao attributes these problems to a ‘server fault’’.
“We were using systems provided by the Centre for Good Governance in Hyderabad. The initial problems were mainly due to non-cooperation by Telangana State employees,” he clarifies.
The corporation gives out nearly 80,000 passes annually to different categories of commuters.
In the name of reforms, RTC is implementing its agenda of doing away with concessions given to students. It is part of a bigger ploy to privatise the corporation.
Navaneetam Sambasiva Rao,State general secretary, AIYF
