Hyderabad: On the first day of increased bus fares came into effect which invited the wrath of the Opposition parties, TSRTC Chairman Somrapu Satyanarayana asserted that the government is committed to provide bus facility to every village in the state despite losses.
Addressing a press conference here on Monday, Satyanarayana asserted that the bus charges hike was a meager one and no burden would fall on the common man, while Andhra Pradesh Government increased the bus fares six months ago.
Taking a dig at the earlier Congress government for increasing the bus fares every year, the RTC Chief sought to know why some opposition parties were taking to streets and not doing so in AP for the same. Satyanarayana said that Chief Minister, K Chandrasekhar Rao wants to connect with people with bus facility for safer transportation to their destination. Though Palle Velugu services were incurring Rs 500 crore loss the RTC is running the buses to connect with the people in rural pockets he said.
The hike is minimal that will fetch Rs 286 crore a year and the remaining 9 months will fetch Rs 214 crore additionally, he said. To avoid burdening the common man, we have increased only Rs 1 on Palle Velugu services as the KCR Government is determined to extend services to every nook and corner. The last year loss was pegged at Rs 701 crore for the RTC and fresh charges will only cover to some extent, he said.
Referring to the losses in the RTC he said that the hike in charges was made only to protect the public sector organization to strengthen it internally and plug loopholes. Efforts are being made to check the losses being incurred, ensure coordination among the officials and staff and finally to offer better services to the people with improved facilities at the bus stands and bus shelters, he remarked. (NSS)