Will Karnataka stop Inter State Bus Services?
amaravati sources stated that Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (APSRTC) has been popular with passengers even during the COVID-19 times. In contrast to the situation in neighboring states telangana and karnataka, about two lakhs of passengers have been using apsrtc services to reach their destinations every day. apsrtc resumed its operations on May 21 after a prolonged lockdown due to coronavirus. In telangana, TSRTC had resumed all its operations on march 24 except city buses in hyderabad and inter-state services. tamilnadu has not yet started its operations due to a huge spike in coronavirus cases.
Furthermore as many as 60,000 tickets are being booked in apsrtc for long-distance services as against 1,492 in TSRTC and 4,843 tickets that are being booked in karnataka RTC. apsrtc has not resumed its operations to Hyderabad. However, the corporation resumed interstate services to karnataka on june 17. About 76 percent of occupancy is being registered in apsrtc while in TSRTC, the occupancy is being registered below 20 percent.
Moreover the Association of State Road Transport Undertakings (ASRTU), an apex coordinating body working under the aegis of Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, has said that prevalence of COVID-19 is very low in apsrtc buses when compared to other states and also found that the public transportation system in andhra pradesh is better during COVID-19 times.
It has also said that the online booking facility in apsrtc is better than other state transport corporations.