The Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation is planning to introduce ‘O’ account wallet, city buses in 25 proposed districts, battery buses, restroom buses, sight-seeing services and bus stations development to encourage the public transport system, said outgoing Public Transport Department Commissioner and APSRTC Vice-Chairman and Managing Director Madireddi Pratap.
Listing the initiatives taken up in the last few months at a press conference here on Monday, Mr. Pratap said RTC is planning to issue ‘O’ account wallet based on Aadhaar cards to villagers. The accounts would be opened with the help of a social startup company.
Once the driver enters the destination, the fare will be displayed and the passenger has to show his or her card to the machine and accordingly the fare would be deducted.
Electric buses
RTC had drawn up plans to introduce metro network. Under this system, a bus terminal will be set up every 500 metres connecting industrial areas, markets and other public places.
The corporation has prepared a detailed project report to introduce city services in the proposed 25 districts. “Initially, we are planning to launch them in Kakinada, connecting Samalkot, Ramachandrapuram, Peddapuram, Karapa and other places,” Mr. Pratap said.
As electric buses were not fully viable, RTC has plans to run buses with battery swap technology in cities, which will help reduce pollution. Discussions were held with the Sun Mobility Company, which was supplying batteries to autos.
One Saptagiri bus in Tirupati was converted into an electric bus and a Veera bus would be operated on an experimental basis. “ We are planning to run electric buses from August 15,” he said.
Commercial space
The RTC is planning to enhance commercial space at bus stations which would generate an estimated revenue of ₹180 crore per year, and the tender process would begin soon. Space would be given on lease for setting up 79 petrol bunks across the State at its bus stations and depots, Mr. Pratap said, adding that the corporation was planning a tie-up with Flipkart and Amazon and some international courier services to offer more services, he said.
Executive Directors K.S. Brahmananda Reddy and A. Koteswara Rao were among those present.