VIJAYAWADA: Condemning the management’s proposal to hire buses of educational institutions for passenger service, the APSRTC’s Employees’ Union has decided to stage a relay hunger strike simultaneously at 128 bus depots across the state on Tuesday.
In a recent meeting with the officials, APSRTC vice-chairman and managing director M Pratap reportedly mooted the proposal for its implementation in Visakhapatnam on a pilot basis, as the city is expected to house the new executive capital of the state.
The corporation runs 600 buses in the steel city every day, to ferry seven lakh passengers on 45 routes. The officials expect the demand for public transport would significantly rise once the executive capital begins functioning from there.
A senior RTC official said on the condition: “We are contemplating hiring of school and college buses for public transportation in Visakhapatnam. A meeting in this regard will be held with educational institutions. The corporation is not financially sound to procure the required 400 more buses in order to meet the demand after the full-fledged operation of executive capital begin there.”
“Why should RTC officials hire school buses for public transport in Visakhapatnam when they can buy new buses as per the demand in a phased-manner, asked P Damodar, general secretary of the union, which is a recognised body in the RTC. The issue has also been brought to the notice of Transport Minister Perni Venkata Ramaiah, who reportedly assured the employees that the proposal would scrapped as it was ‘against’ their interest.
A representation was also submitted to the VC and MD, requesting him to roll back the proposal and focus on implementing the genuine demands of the employees.
RTC to buy 698 buses
The RTC has decided to add 698 new buses to its existing fleet at an estimated cost of Rs 225 crore. Of them, 18 are Volvo, 50 Indra and 630 non-air-conditioned buses. The old buses will be replaced with the new ones in a phased manner. At present, the occupancy ratio in the AC buses is 90 per cent, which the officials seek to improve further.