Andhra Pradesh's proposed bus scheme to cost Rs 277 crore per month, delegation visits Karnataka

The Andhra Pradesh government under Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu is planning to introduce a similar scheme to the one in Karnataka to provide free bus travel for women within that state.

Bengaluru: A delegation from the Andhra Pradesh government visited the Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) on Friday to discuss women's free bus travel scheme. 

The Andhra Pradesh government under Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu is planning to introduce a similar scheme to provide free bus travel for women within that state. 

A senior official in Andhra Pradesh's Transport, Roads and Buildings Department told DH that the neighbouring state planned to launch a scheme roughly similar to the one in Karnataka.

Women of Andhra Pradesh domicile will get to travel for free within the state on all non-premium buses operated by the Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (APSRTC). 

The APSRTC has about 11,200 buses, 73 per cent of which are non-premium, he said. 

The department estimates that approximately 25 lakh women will benefit daily from the scheme, which is expected to cost Rs 277 crore per month. 

The delegation included Minister for Transport, Youth Affairs and Sports Mandipalli Ramprasad Reddy, Minister for Home and Disaster Management Anitha Vangalapudi, Minister for Women and Child Welfare Gummidi Sandhya Rani, the principal secretary of the Transport, Roads and Buildings Department, and secretary of the Finance Department and officials from the APSRTC. 

The delegation held detailed discussions with Karnataka Transport Minister Ramalinga Reddy, KSRTC Vice Chairman Mohammed Rizwan Nawab and Managing Director V Anbukumar to understand the implementation and operational aspects of the scheme. 

It later visited the KSRTC's depot number 2 for a tour of the Airavat Club Class 2.0, Airavat Club Class, Ambaari Dream Class, Ambaari Utsav, Pallakki, Fly Bus, Rajahamsa and Ashwamedha buses. 

According to the KSRTC, the delegation praised its maintenance units, and bus branding and refurbishment efforts. It later interacted with women passengers at the Shanthinagar Bus Terminal to understand their experience with the free travel scheme.