Visakhapatnam: Faced with rush in trains and RTC buses and lack of private buses, people opted for taxis to reach their home towns for Sankranti. They are pooling their money and renting a taxi, which provides a comfortable ride for a few rupees extra than the bus charge.
Raju, Ashruf, Ashok and Kasi, B.Tech students from a city college, wanted to go to their home town Rajahmundry. With no tickets available for train and bus, they pooled money and hired a cab. Private buses are absent from the roads due to raids by RTA officials.
“I have never seen such a crowd in trains during the three years of my stay in Vizag,” said Ashok. “It’s hard to get a seat, and it’s difficult to stand and travel for four hours in a packed train. You can’t even breathe,” he said.
There has been a significant rise in the demand for cabs in Vizag, especially from people headed towards Itchchapuram, Palasa, Rajahmundry, Vijayawada, and even. Hyderabad.
Appala Raju, a cab service owner, is pleased with demand for cabs. Earlier, people used to book cabs to go to places like Srikakulam, Vizianagaram and Anakapalle or visits to Aruku, Annavaram, Arasavalli. This year cabs were being hired to go to distant places. Even the Magic taxis that run between Vizag, Vizianagaram and Srikakulam are running full.
