APSRTC charges extra fare during festive season

The Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (APSRTC) and private bus operators are fleecing passengers by collecting hefty charges on the pretext of special buses being operated during the festival season.

The APSRTC, which will be running around 1,770 special buses between September 18 and 28 to clear the extra rush of passengers, has decided to collect 50 per cent additional fare from the passengers.

The corporation has hiked extra fare that was collected from passengers during the festival season from 30 per cent to 50 per cent, saying that “occupancy ratio of seats is less during return journey”.

“We can understand if private operators collect extra fare during festive season. But the APSRTC, which is a state unit is also cheating the public. The government need to take some
serious action against it,” said A.V.R. Kumar, an employee in a pharmaceutical company.

When contacted, Mr S. Ravindra Babu, regional manager (APSRTC) of Ranga Reddy Region, said, “The government has permitted the APSRTC to charge extra during festive season. RTC does not charge extra on normal days.”

This boosts up the morale of private operators to charge almost double the fare. For instance, the luxury bus fare from Hyderabad to Visakhapatnam on normal days is Rs 400. But it is likely to shoot up to Rs 700 to Rs 800 on September 26 and 27 as many people will visit their hometowns to celebrate Dasara.

Meanwhile, South Central Railway, has decided to run 300 special trains in September and October to ferry the extra rush of passengers. It will operate special trains from Hyderabad to Howrah, Visakhapatnam, Vijayawada, Mumbai, Patna, Bikaner and other places.