GPS to be installed in all AP state buses

Vijayawada: Global Positioning System (GPS) will be installed in all 12,000 buses of Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation before October 12 to monitor their movement, an official said.

The monitoring with GPS will enable the depot-level staff to inform the passengers about the arrival and departure of buses in advance, which would ultimately improve occupancy, APSRTC Managing Director N Sambasiva Rao told reporters here on Thursday.

He said the APSRTC management is focusing on improvement of occupancy of the buses from the existing 72 per cent. At the same time, the management is also concentrating on fuel consumption efficiency from the existing 5.17 kmpl to 5.27 kmpl for each bus, he said.

Rao said the management has submitted a fare hike proposal to the state government in view of increased cost of operations, after 43 per cent hike in salaries of the staff.

APSRTC incurred a Rs 595-crore loss in 2014-15 and now many initiatives have been taken to reduce the losses by improving the internal management, he said. The losses in the first four months of the present financial year reduced to Rs 48 crore from Rs 238 crore, compared to the same period last fiscal, he added.

-PTI