Andhra Pradesh - Vijayawada   

Upset over Volvo’s cost, APSRTC goes desi

— PHOTO: CH. VIJAYA BHASKAR

Ready to roll: The super luxury Tata bus being inducted by APSRTC into the Garuda fleet in Vijayawada.

VIJAYAWADA: The AP State Road Transport Corporation (APSRTC) has decided to go for an indigenous product to reduce its dependence on the Sweden-based Volvo Bus Corporation.

As part of this decision, a new product rolling out of the Tata Motors’ bus-building factory has joined the fleet of buses at Pandit Nehru Bus Station (PNBS) here.

The high-speed sleek Garuda service launched by the APSRTC amidst much fanfare caught the imagination of the middle class commuters who extended their patronage to the new vehicle in an overwhelming way. So much so that it set the APSRTC authorities to add additional Garuda buses of Volvo make at regular intervals.

The Krishna region of the Corporation currently has a total of 25 such buses.

“The first indigenous vehicle acquired by the Corporation has been given to the Krishna region. More vehicles of similar make will find their place in our depots based on the feedback about this service,” A. Koteswara Rao, Regional Manager of the Corporation told The Hindu.

All set to hit the roads in a couple of days, the new product looks almost like the Garuda of the Volvo-make.

“It is almost similar to Garuda, the only difference being its indigenous make. Garuda is equipped with imported technology with its body fabrication done in India. The interiors of both the vehicles look similar,” Mr. Koteswara Rao said.

Refusing to give in to the demand of high price quoted by the Volvo manufacturer, the APSRTC instead chose to encourage indigenous companies and give the Volvo a tough competition.

A Garuda bus of the Volvo make costs APSRTC nearly Rs. 80 lakh against the Rs. 50 lakhs paid to the Tatas.

Meanwhile, the four-day Sankranti festival brought huge revenues for the Corporation in the region.

While the highest revenue recorded in a single day during last year Sankranti touched Rs. 1.07 crores, this year’s highest revenue was recorded on Monday (January 12) at Rs.1.04 crores.

“Based on the huge booking of tickets made so far, we are expecting a heavy traffic on inter-district, intra-district and in all other routes on Sunday. The conclusion of the festival coupled with re-opening of schools is bound to result in an abnormal swell in the vehicular traffic in the region and we hope that the revenue will surpass last year’s record,” he said.

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