APSRTC to run 5,261 special buses to clear Dasara rush

The Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (APSRTC) has plans to operate 5,261 special buses during the Dasara festival to cater to the surge in passenger traffic within the State and from major cities such as Hyderabad, Bengaluru and Chennai.

A statement issued by the APSRTC on Thursday said the special services would be operated in two phases — 3,207 buses from October 16 to 19, ahead of the festival and another 2,054 buses from October 20 to 25 for the return journey.

The arrangements are aimed at facilitating travel to native places and important pilgrim destinations during the festival season. The major festival days are Moola Nakshatram on October 16, Durgashtami on October 18, Maharnavami on October 19 and Vijayadasami on October 20.

Of the total special services planned, 1,186 buses will be operated to Hyderabad, the highest destination-wise allocation, followed by 1,053 to Vijayawada, 475 to Bengaluru, 440 to Visakhapatnam, 347 to Rajamahendravaram, 247 to Tirupati and 153 to Chennai. Another 1,360 buses have been earmarked for other destinations.

The APSRTC has made the largest allocation of buses to Hyderabad, with 533 buses during the pre-Dasara period and 653 during the post-Dasara period. Vijayawada will have 719 pre-Dasara and 334 post-Dasara services. Bengaluru will get 252 and 223 buses respectively, while Visakhapatnam will have 253 and 187 services.

The special operations will cover all four APSRTC zones. Zone-II will account for the highest number of services with 2,218 buses, followed by Zone-IV with 1,118, Zone-I with 1,107 and Zone-III with 818.

Among the districts, NTR district will have the highest allocation of 804 special buses, followed by Visakhapatnam (416), Eluru (340), YSR Kadapa (318), Srikakulam (279), East Godavari (260), Prakasam (245) and Kakinada (224).

Zone-I will operate 279 special buses from Srikakulam, 123 from Parvathipuram-Manyam, 141 from Vizianagaram, 35 from Alluri Sitharama Raju, 416 from Visakhapatnam and 113 from Anakapalli. In Zone-II, the allocation includes 224 buses from Kakinada, 260 from East Godavari, 177 from Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Konaseema, 206 from West Godavari, 340 from Eluru, 207 from Krishna and 804 from NTR district.

Zone-III will operate 85 buses from Guntur, 77 from Palnadu, 132 from Bapatla, 245 from Prakasam, 140 from Markapuram and 139 from SPS Nellore. Zone-IV will operate 100 buses from Tirupati, 78 from Chittoor, 118 from Annamayya, 318 from YSR Kadapa, 94 from Nandyal, 161 from Kurnool, 88 from Anantapur and 161 from Sri Sathya Sai.

The APSRTC authorities said additional services would be kept ready and operated based on passenger demand and that special services would continue during the post-Dasara period to manage the expected rush on return journeys.

The objective was to ensure safe, comfortable and convenient travel for passengers during the festival by making adequate bus services available in accordance with demand, the officials said.