APSRTC buses were back on the road on Thursday after the government announced a relaxation in the lockdown.
The corporation decided to operate limited services as a trial run in order to test the fleet’s preparedness and also to send a message to commuters.
In Chittoor district, the corporation plied 165 buses on 49 routes. Since the number of seats were reduced due to the internal modifications taken up to ensure social distancing, the demand is expected to be huge in the forthcoming days.
While Super Luxury buses with a capacity of 36 buses will leave 10 vacant seats, Ultra Deluxe buses with a 40-seat capacity will carry only 29 passengers leaving 11 seats vacant. Palle Velugu buses (60-seat capacity) will carry only 36 passengers. To ensure social distancing, the APSRTC opened 101 ground booking points and seven reservation points, besides facilitating cashless ticket purchase across the district.
Commuters are also being encouraged to book tickets online at www.apsrtconline.in. “Based on the trial run taken today, we saw that patronage was lesser on rural routes. From tomorrow, we will run buses in accordance with the public demand,” APSRTC Tirupati Regional Manager T. Chengal Reddy said.
In Kadapa, 100 buses plied on 38 routes, though the actual plan was to operate 140 buses on 45 routes. “We expect the demand to pick up by Saturday, after news spreads about the resumption of services,” Kadapa Regional Manager T. Jithendranath Reddy said. Twelve buses in the Ultra Deluxe and Super Luxury categories were modified in this region to ensure physical distancing between passengers.
