HOLIDAY RUSH: The scene at the Mahatma Gandhi bus station. Photo: Mohd. Yousuf

HYDERABAD: With summer traffic picking up, the Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (APSRTC) has drawn up plans to encash on the passenger rush. Now, one can reserve tickets on the telephone and have them delivered at home. Credit cards can also be used for booking the ticket, a facility hitherto not available.

With a view to meeting the summer rush, the corporation has also decided to increase the number of its authorised ticket-booking agents. At present, it has 62 in the twin cities who sell some 4,500 tickets per day, generating revenue of Rs. 9 lakhs. Now, it is targeted to double the monthly revenue accrued through agents from Rs. 2 cores to Rs. 4 crores.

For this, authorities have decided to appoint another 37 booking agents. "Tenders have been called for and the matter will be finalised by June," says S. Nagaraju, Regional Manager, Ranga Reddy region.

New scheme

In order to effectively meet the challenge posed by private operators, the RTC has introduced a new scheme of picking up passengers from their doorstep, free of cost. Its booking agents are asked to ply vans to transport passengers from their homes to the place of boarding. At present, RTC agents at Ameerpet and Kukatpally are providing this facility. Permission is being accorded to four more agents at Mehdipatnam, I.S. Sadan, Jeedimetla and A.S. Rao Nagar to run the pick-up service.

It is also proposed to allow agents who sell 100 tickets per day to appoint sub agents. "All this is intended to lessen the hardship of passengers," Mr. Nagaraju says.

On Wednesday, the performance of authorised agents was reviewed at a meeting held at Mahatma Gandhi Bus Station (MGBS). They were told to step up the sale of tickets by attracting passengers through innovative schemes.

Meanwhile, the summer rush has picked up at MGBS necessitating plying of extra buses. The authorities are running 100 to 200 additional buses on different routes depending on the demand. MGBS runs 2,685 buses everyday. "Buses are being pooled from different depots to meet the rush," says P. Madhusudhan Rao, Assistant Traffic Manager, MGBS.

At Jubilee Bus Station, Picket, too the volume of traffic has increased. In addition to the regular fleet of 1,050 buses, another 50 to 100 buses are being pressed into service.

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