VIJAYAWADA: As Sankranti nears, many will be visiting their natives for the celebration. This gives a big opportunity to private bus operators to exploit the situation and fleece the commuters. With the government receiving such complaints every festive season, it has now decided to crack down on the operators. If any passenger is charged extra towards fares, he/she can just send a WhatsApp message to the Transport Department with details of the bus. The department will act against the operator once the bus enters the Andhra border.
Asking people to lodge their complaints against exorbitant fares, Transport Minister Perni Venkataramaiah announced the WhatsApp number (8309887955) to which the complaints can be lodged during Sankranti.
Addressing the media on Monday, Venkataramaiah said during Diwali, many passengers approached the Transport Department with complaints of exorbitant fares charged by the private bus operators.
Taking a serious note of it, special teams were formed and surprise checks were conducted across the State, he said.“With just a couple of weeks left for Sankranti, we have warned the bus operators not to fleece inter-State passengers. If the passengers come across such a situation, they can simply send the details of the bus operator, including registration number, to us. Soon after receiving the complaint, special teams will take action once the bus enters AP,” Venkataramaiah observed.
In response to the criticism that even the RTC was increasing its ticket prices during festivals, the minister maintained that there would be no such case in regular services and 50 per cent charge will be collected only for special services to cover the expected losses in the return journey.
RTC merger a brave decision: Minister
On Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy’s decision to merge RTC with the State Government from January 1, the minister said the dream of 54,000 RTC employees will come true in the new year and that the move was a brave decision. “Former chief minister Chandrababu Naidu had said the merger of RTC with the government was impossible. Despite all odds, Jagan has taken a brave decision.”