Many new bus services will be introduced following a fresh inter-State transport agreement between Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) and Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (APSRTC). And, this includes a direct service between Bangalore and Srisailam
The agreement, signed after five years, seeks to introduce over 400 new services and 1,400 new buses by the RTCs of both States, increasing the coverage by over 1.8 lakh km. The pact was signed by KSRTC managing director N. Manjunatha Prasad and APSRTC vice-chairman and managing director A.K. Khan here on Friday.
Already, RTCs of Karnataka, including North West Karnataka Road Transport Corporation and North East Karnataka Road Transport Corporation, are operating services on 647 routes, with 1,440 buses covering 2.29 lakh kms in Andhra Pradesh.
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APSRTC is operating services on 548 routes, with 1,491 buses covering 2.26 lakh km in Karnataka. The 9th Supplemental Agreement enables Karnataka RTCs to operate on 200 more routes, with 681 buses covering 98,632 km. APSRTC could add 202 more routes with 716 buses, covering 99,760 km.
Besides the regular services, both States have agreed to operate additional services during festival seasons, weekends, and during summer,Mr. Manjunatha Prasad told The Hindu .
He said there was a need for an agreement in view of the increasing travelling demands by the public of both States. The corporations were unable to introduce new services as the previous agreement was signed in 2008, he added.
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KSRTC general manager (traffic) K.S. Vishwanath said corporations of both States also wanted to beat private operators, who have been clandestinely operating services on nationalised routes. Operating more and more services by these corporations was the only means to curb this practice, he said. Though KSRTC sought introduction of direct services to Visakhapatnam and Kakinada in north coastal Andhra Pradesh, there was no agreement on it, he said.
With Maharashtra
One of the new routes — Bangalore to Nagpur — passes through Andhra Pradesh (723 km) and Maharashtra (217 km).
Operation on this route becomes possible after KSRTC enters into a similar agreement with Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation in a month, he said.
Another most sought-after service from Karnataka was connectivity to the pilgrimage centre of Srisailam.
While one KSRTC service would be operated via Anantapur, another would be via Tumkur and Bellary, he added.
Bangalore–Tirupati and Bangalore–Hyderabad, sectors on which both States operate the highest number of services (110 and 22 respectively), would get 60 and 15 services additionally through this agreement, Mr. Vishwanath added.