Visakhapatnam: Bus operators in the driving seat

Visakhapatnam: With thousands of people heading to their native places to celebrate Dasara, bus operators have jacked up the fares. Over the last four to five days, crowds at bus and railway stations in Vizag have swelled. The long weekend followed by Dasara and Muharram holidays are enticing Vizagites to pack their bags. Unfortunately, there are no seats or berths available in most of the trains and buses that run from Vizag as they could only partially compensate the rush.

Bus fares from Visakhapatnam and Hyderabad generally range between Rs 600 and Rs 1000; in private air-conditioned buses, they’re about Rs 800 to Rs 1,500. However, private bus operators are charging anywhere between Rs 1,800 and Rs 3,200 for AC buses and between Rs 1,000 and Rs 1,300 for non-AC service to destinations like Hyderabad, Chennai and Tirupati from Vizag. Special buses operated by the RTC have also been collecting more than regular fares.

During a visit to the railway and bus stations in the city to assess the situation this correspondent saw heavy rush at both places. Several passengers were seen waiting for announcement of special buses/trains as tickets for the existing ones were already booked. APSRTC regional manager G. Sudesh Kumar said that they had been operating about 100 special buses to meet the demand.

“The APSRTC had been operating special buses to Chennai, Bangalore, and Tirupati through Vijayawada from Vizag and other coastal districts in AP,” he said. P. Narayana, a passenger at the Dwaraka bus station said that tickets for the next three buses to Kakinada were already booked and he was waiting for fourth one. The situation is similar in railway stations in the city with passengers finding it difficult to find a berth. The Railway authorities said they had been running various special trains to catch up with the unprecedented rush during this season to and fro Visakhapatnam, Secunderabad and Tirupati via Vijayawada.