state govt decided to issue ‘zero fare tickets’ to women starting from August 15
Vijayawada: The state govt decided to issue ‘zero fare tickets’ to women starting from August 15. In a review meeting with the officials of the Public Transport Department (PTD) and Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (APSRTC), chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Monday directed that the tickets issued must include the details of the route they are travelling, distance covered, the amount of money saved with the free bus travel scheme, and the subsidy given by the state govt.Naidu said that the women passengers should be provided with the details of the benefits they are receiving. He asked the officials to develop software for this purpose. Naidu also discussed the financial implications of the scheme on APSRTC and instructed the officials to look for alternative revenue generation sources as well as the reduction of maintenance costs. He told the officials to be ready to handle any kind of issues that may arise after the launch of the scheme. He instructed them to study the issues that arose in other states when a similar scheme was launched.The chief minister suggested the officials to prepare advanced estimates on cost implications because of the scheme and ensure that the free bus service to women does not become a burden for the APSRTC. He said that all the new buses to be inducted into the fleet should be air-conditioned electric buses and directed the APSRTC officials to develop the necessary infrastructure for the maintenance and charging of electric buses.
