People from other districts of Andhra Pradesh, who were stranded in the city due to the two-month lockdown, being implemented to contain the spread of due to COVID-19, heaved a sigh of relief as public transport buses (APSRTC) once again hit the road with effect from Thursday.
The passengers started arriving much before 7 a.m., the scheduled departure of the buses from the Dwaraka Bus Station (RTC Complex) in the city. There was some confusion initially, when some passengers came without prior booking of their tickets through online. The police did not allow them as those who had reserved their tickets to various destinations were already in the queues.
“The unreserved passengers were not allowed initially as the mandatory guidelines for COVID-19 like thermal screening and noting down of details was first conducted for the reserved passengers. The problem was sorted out in 10 minutes. While passengers are advised to book tickets online, those who do not have access or are not conversant with it can buy tickets at the five manual counters at the bus station. We have also introduced a swiping machine for digital transactions,” Deputy Chief Traffic Manager (urban) M. Sudhabindu told The Hindu, when her attention was drawn to the issue.
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