Vijayawada: Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu discussed with officials the issue of providing free bus travel facility to women in APSRTC buses from August 15 this year.He said steps should be taken to increase the number of buses, as occupancy is expected to increase with implementation of the free bus travel scheme.“Purchase new buses or rent them if necessary,” the CM underlined. He suggested that from now on, all buses procured by the RTC should be EV AC vehicles. He wanted officials to examine the possibility of converting the existing buses into EVs, while making GPS mandatory for every bus.Chandrababu Naidu pointed out that free bus transport facility is being provided to women in Delhi, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Telangana. However, each state is following a different policy. He advised officials to study the policies of all these states well before the scheme is introduced. “Our policy should be the best and most satisfactory,” he emphasised.The Chief Minister suggested that officials examine swapping of EV batteries, so that maintenance costs could be decreased. He acknowledged that Andhra Pradesh is going through financial difficulties because of the previous government in the state. “We have to keep the promises made to people. At the same time, public money should be used wisely, as every rupee is valuable,” he said.Chandrababu Naidu asked officials to reduce the maintenance cost of RTC buses with the battery swapping system. “Prepare proposals on how much it will cost to purchase and maintain any bus, diesel, EV, CNG and battery swapping. Consider how the cost can be reduced in case buses and service stations are handed over to private companies,” he suggested.Officials have calculated that an additional 2,536 buses are required for the implementation of the new scheme. It is expected that this will cost ₹996 crore. The officials also explained to the CM that drinking water facilities, toilet maintenance, bus information boards and other facilities at the bus station need to be improved.The total population of the state is 5.25 crore, of which 2.62 crore are women. Of these, the number of women travelling in Palle Velugu, Ultra Palle Velugu and City buses is currently 43.06 crore per year. However, after the implementation of the free bus travel scheme, the officials explained to the Chief Minister that this could increase to 75.51 crore. The officials said that on average, every woman travels at least once a week. Similarly, the number of women travelling in Express and Metro Express buses is currently 6.85 crore. After the implementation of the scheme, this number could increase to 13.39 crore. In total, women can travel 88.90 crore times in a year with the free bus scheme.
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