more-in Dasara festivities invariably generate crowds everywhere – on the roads, at the market, in malls and in bus and railway stations. The Pandit Nehru Bus Station (PNBS), the main bus station of the AP State Road Transport Corporation (APSRTC) and the Vijayawada railway station, the two transit points for people of this region, witnessed milling crowds on Sunday. This is that time of the year when families plan holidays and criss-cross, heading to different destinations and students head to their homes with their backpacks. Vijayawada being an educational hub, it is second home to a large number of students from outside the city, especially from the Rayalaseema districts, who live in local hostels and visit homes to be with their families during the festival. The PNBS is chock-a-block with frenzied commuters walking from one end of the bus station to the other looking for buses that would take them home. The area outside the cloak room is covered with a large number of baggages spilling out in the vicinity. To cater to the transport needs of the crowd, the RTC has pressed into service nearly 3,500 additional buses that leave every day to destinations like Hyderabad, Bangalore and Chennai besides different parts of the State. Corporation’s Vice-Chairman and Managing Director N.V. Surendra Babu announced at a recent press meet that the Online Passenger Reservation System (OPRS) had been activated much in advance to enable people to book their tickets in advance and avoid last-minute problems. The early birds are enjoying their perks while procrastinators are having to shell out exorbitant fares charged by private bus operators out to make a killing of the festival rush. The APSRTC is also charging 50% extra on the additional buses it is operating for the convenience of the public. “This is necessary to break even since most buses are empty on their return journey,” explained Mr. Surendra Babu. The RTC has set daily and monthly targets for this festival season, hoping to earn some extra revenue. Officials said that the corporation could not achieve the daily targets from October 1 to 11, but it improved on October 13 and they feel that the trend may continue till October 22. But even after the increase, RTC bus fares are still lower than the private bus fares. “This is very unfair. There should be some logic for this abnormal hike. When the distance between two destinations remains the same, why charge extra?” wonders Chandra, a homemaker, heading to Bangalore with her daughter and son-in-law from a private bus. The South Central Railways, meanwhile, are operating 25 additional train services to cater to the festival rush in the division.

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