VISAKHAPATNAM: As the Dasara vacation comes to an end, the city bus station and private bus points were crowded with hundreds of passengers heading to their workplace. To ensure their hassle-free journey, the APSRTC introduced around 480 additional buses from Vizag to other cities from October 4 to 13.
On Sunday, the city bus complex was flooded with passengers waiting for buses to Srikakulam, Amalapuram, Kakinada, Rajahmundry and Vijayawada. The private travels made good of the situation. They increased the fares to the cities like Hyderabad, Bangalore and Chennai.
There is no reservation in the majority of the long-distance special buses, introduced this Dasara. The passengers have to depend on private buses. In the absence of the TSRTC buses in Vizag, the APSRTC has pressed into service special buses for the passengers going to Hyderabad from Visakhapatnam. As the 18 special buses from Vizag to Hyderabad, allotted by the TSRTC were cancelled, the APSRTC filled the vacuum.
For the people travelling from Hyderabad to Vizag, the Dasara journey has become sour as they had to either opt for private travels or trains which only have tatkal bookings. Many who couldn’t get even a tatkal ticket depended on travel agents or travelled by personal vehicles. On average, 1,192 buses depart daily from Visakhapatnam. They include city buses, long and short distance services.
For post-Dasara travel, there are 110 additional buses from Vizag. Keeping in view the demand, RTC officials have also added special buses depending on the requirement. Majority of the buses are for Srikakulam, Amalapuram, Kakinada, Rajahmundry, Vijayawada, Bobbili and other places.