VIJAYAWADA: The Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (APSRTC) has decided to run 2,028 special buses within the state and some to Bengaluru between October 15 and 28 to ensure hassle-free journey for the passengers during Dasara.RTC executive director (operations) KS Brahmananda Reddy on Monday told TNIE: “Due to uncertainty prevailing over inter-state agreements with Telangana and Tamil Nadu, buses will not be operated to Hyderabad and Chennai. However, buses to Bengaluru from across the state have been planned. The special services to Telangana and Tamil Nadu will be operated if AP enters into an agreement with the states and as per the demand.”
He added the Corporation operates special services between Hyderabad, Vijayawada, Visakhapatnam, Tirupati, Rajahmundry, Amalapuram, Guntur, Ongole, Nellore, Chittoor, Kadapa, Kurnool and Anantapur every Dasara season. Elaborating further, Reddy said the RTC, at present, was operating 3,494 services per day.
“Except for the 1,182 buses operated to Telangana and 284 to Tamil Nadu, all other services will be functional during the festive season. Before the coronavirus, the RTC was selling 50,000 tickets per day through its online portals. Due to restrictions on inter-state operations, the corporation is now selling 34,000 tickets per day through the online portals and physical booking counters,” the official noted.“In order to compete with private operators, all regional managers and officials concerned have been asked to ensure that Online Passenger Reservation System (OPRS) is active,” he added.