APSRTC to run 5,261 special buses for Dasara travel rush

The Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (APSRTC) has planned 5,261 special buses to manage the expected increase in passenger traffic during the Dasara festival, including travel within the State and from Hyderabad, Bengaluru and Chennai.

The APSRTC said the services would be operated in two phases to cover both travel ahead of the festival and the return journey afterwards.

A total of 3,207 buses will run from October 16 to 19, while another 2,054 services are planned from October 20 to 25.

The arrangements are intended to support passengers travelling to their native places and important pilgrim destinations during the festival season.

The major festival days are Moola Nakshatram on October 16, Durgashtami on October 18, Maharnavami on October 19 and Vijayadasami on October 20.

Hyderabad gets the largest allocation

Hyderabad will receive the highest destination-wise allocation, with 1,186 special buses planned for the festival period.

Vijayawada will have 1,053 buses, followed by Bengaluru with 475, Visakhapatnam with 440, Rajamahendravaram with 347, Tirupati with 247 and Chennai with 153.

Another 1,360 buses have been earmarked for other destinations.

The APSRTC has divided the Hyderabad services between the two phases, with 533 buses planned during the pre-Dasara period and 653 during the post-Dasara period.

Vijayawada will have 719 pre-Dasara and 334 post-Dasara services.

Bengaluru will get 252 buses before Dasara and 223 after the festival, while Visakhapatnam will have 253 and 187 services respectively.

The allocation pattern reflects the corporation’s plan to address passenger movement in both directions, with services arranged before the main festival days and for the expected return travel after Vijayadasami.

Zone-II to operate the most services

The special operations will cover all four APSRTC zones.

Zone-II will account for the highest number of services, with 2,218 buses.

It will be followed by Zone-IV with 1,118 buses, Zone-I with 1,107 and Zone-III with 818.

Among the districts, NTR district has received the highest allocation, with 804 special buses.

Visakhapatnam will have 416 buses, followed by Eluru with 340, YSR Kadapa with 318, Srikakulam with 279, East Godavari with 260, Prakasam with 245 and Kakinada with 224.

In Zone-I, the allocation includes 279 buses from Srikakulam, 123 from Parvathipuram-Manyam, 141 from Vizianagaram, 35 from Alluri Sitharama Raju, 416 from Visakhapatnam and 113 from Anakapalli.

Zone-II will operate 224 buses from Kakinada, 260 from East Godavari, 177 from Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Konaseema, 206 from West Godavari, 340 from Eluru, 207 from Krishna and 804 from NTR district.

Zone-III will run 85 buses from Guntur, 77 from Palnadu, 132 from Bapatla, 245 from Prakasam, 140 from Markapuram and 139 from SPS Nellore.

Zone-IV will operate 100 buses from Tirupati, 78 from Chittoor, 118 from Annamayya, 318 from YSR Kadapa, 94 from Nandyal, 161 from Kurnool, 88 from Anantapur and 161 from Sri Sathya Sai.

Additional buses to be kept ready

APSRTC authorities said additional services would be kept ready and operated according to passenger demand.

They also said special services would continue during the post-Dasara period to manage the expected rush on return journeys.

The officials said the objective was to ensure safe, comfortable and convenient travel by making adequate bus services available in accordance with demand.

Source: The Hindu