The APSRTC introduced eco-friendly buses on the Tirupati-Tirumala ghat route, on Tuesday.
The launch of the buses, which adhere to the BS IV (Bharat Stage IV) emission norms, comes ahead of the Srivari Brahmotsavams on the Seshachalam hills in two months.
The fleet was flagged off by Transport Minister K. Atchannaidu, in the presence of Industries Minister N. Amaranatha Reddy, APSRTC Chairman Varla Ramaiah, Zilla Parishad chairperson Geervani Chandraprakash, TUDA Chairman G. Narasimha Yadav and MLA M. Sugunamma.
Mr. Atchannaidu said the unreasonable bifurcation had made the APSRTC suffer a loss of ₹5,500 crore.
“Thanks to our visionary chief minister and hard-working employees, the occupancy ratio [in buses] has increased to 72% from 50%, thus bringing down the loss to a great extent”, he said.
Plan to build houses
Meanwhile, the corporation was planning to construct houses for its employees on the allotted land in Madanapalle.
Calling the instances of minors driving two-wheelers and auto rickshaws as criminal, Mr. Amaranatha Reddy advised parents to discourage such practices.
The government had the courage to grant an interim relief of 19% to the APSRTC employees, notwithstanding its losses, he added.
APSRTC Executive Director Maheshwar, Regional Manager T. Chengal Reddy, Depot Managers P. Viswanath (Tirupati) and M. Parthasarathy (Alipiri) took part.