As state sizzles, travellers opt for AC buses of APSRTC

Vijayawada: As the state is reeling under scorching heat wave, the demand for the air-conditioned RTC buses is very high. Passengers travelling to long distance destinations prefer to the AC buses. Though the charges are more for these buses, the passengers are not hesitating to pay the price for a comfortable travel. The RTC operates a total of 356 AC buses from various destinations in the state. Among them, 74 are Amaravati buses, 41 Garuda buses, 185 Indra buses, one sleeper bus, 16 Dolphin services, 26 Vennela and 13 other services.

A senior officials in the APSRTC said the occupancy ratio is more than 80 per cent in AC buses for two months. The RTC is trying to ensure better amenities and services to the passengers, he added.

Most of these AC buses are operated from Vijayawada, Visakhapatnam, Tirupati, Guntur, Nellore, Kakinada and other cities. Demand for AC buses is high from Vijayawada to Hyderabad, Vijayawada to Bengaluru and Vijayawada to Visakhapatnam. The RTC has 129 depots and 423 bus stations. Due to availability of buses from more bus stations and depots, the passengers are opting for RTC buses, rather than private travels.

The state has been reeling under high temperatures for the past three weeks. East and West Godavari districts, Krishna and some other coastal districts have registered maximum of temperature of 45 degrees Celsius. Keeping in view the scorching heat and suffocation, the long distance travellers are not hesitating to shell out more for a cool travel. The RTC operates 4,196 non-AC buses which include super luxury, Deluxe, Express and other services. Besides, it is running 5,508 rural services. Interestingly, the RTC has completed 40 years of AC services. The corporation launched its first AC bus service between Hyderabad and Vijayawada on June 1, 1982. Since then, the number of buses has gradually increased and more types of services are introduced.