State Transport Minister Sidda Raghava Rao on Saturday said 1,500 new buses would be added to the APSRTC’s fleet this year to make the State-owned RTC the most preferred mode of transport for the commuters.
Talking to reporters after making a surprise inspection of the RTC bus station here, Mr. Raghava Rao said this was in addition to 1,000 new buses put into service last year. In phases, all the old buses would be sent out, he added
Airport-like ambience
“The Government is on the job of creating airport-like ambiance in all the bus stations and put to commercial use RTC’s assets by constructing shopping malls and theatres to augment the its revenue',” he said. A new mobile app would be introduced soon to help the passengers track their buses with the help of smart phones, he said.
The Minister, who interacted with some of the passengers to know first-hand their response to the “'passengers’ delight'' programme undertaken by the RTC at a cost of Rs. 1.50 crore to give a new look to the bus station here.
He expressed disappointment over non-maintenance and turned his ire at the RTC staff here. He instructed the depot manager to take special care to keep the bus station clean and tidy at all times. He also warned of stringent action against shopkeepers who did not display the price list.
An Australian firm would conduct a study the condition of the 40,000-km of road network in the State to end difficult driving situations, he said, adding on each day, the experts would examine the condition of about 75-km road stretch in a first-of-its-kind study in the country. The results of the study would help improve road design and save on the cost of repairing roads.
While the State government would undertake a Rs. 3,184-crore project interconnecting roads from villages, mandals, district and State-level roads, the Centre would provide Rs. 1,00,000 crore for upgrading national highways in the State and developing a Rs. 22,000-crore Outer Ring Road at Amaravati, he said.
