Delay Likely to 'Free Bus Transport for Women' Scheme in AP

Visakhapatnam: Transport Minister Mandipalli Ramprasad Reddy has made it clear that the promised free bus transport for women in Andhra Pradesh will be delayed, but it “will be implemented.”

“We are studying the systems in Karnataka and Telangana RTCs. Once we are through with this, we will implement it here, starting with Visakhapatnam,” he said.

Reddy said the government also aimed to implement reforms in the APSRTC to make it a profitable entity. He emphasised the pivotal role of both workers and passengers within the organisation and said the government would provide the workers with medical insurance benefits and it would also enhance the services provided to passengers.

This announcement was made during the minister's presence at the Appreciation Meeting of Adarsha Employees in Visakhapatnam. The minister inaugurated three super-luxury inter-district services, each equipped with modern amenities. These were acquired at a cost of `1.20 crore to improve passenger experience.

The transport minister also disclosed plans for introduction of 1400 new services across the state and cited the availability of services in numerous districts. Also present were of MLA Velagapudi Ramakrishna Babu, RTC regional manager Appalaraju, other officials, workers etc.