Hyderabad: Transport minister P. Mahendar Reddy, who assumed office on Sunday, said his priority is to strengthen the RTC bus network and check illegal private bus operators.
He said his department will increase revenues for RTC through effective polices and not by resorting to increase in bus charges. He added that vacant lands, where bus depots are situated in major cities and towns, will be used to build commercial complexes and rent them.
Security of passengers will be given utmost priority and maintenance and fitness tests will be held for buses and drivers every three months.
"While there are 10,600 villages in Telangana, the RTC bus connectivity is available only for 9,400 villages. It is an irony that the successive Governments could not achieve 100 per cent RTC bus connectivity, even after 65 years of Independence. There is no bus connectivity to about 1,400 villages, which rely on other modes of transport and face several hardships to reach their destinations. The issue will be taken up with the Chief Minister soon and the Government will address this issue as soon as possible," the Minister said.
The RTC has been in to losses and steps need to be taken on a war-footing to make it a profitable venture.
“We will seek the suggestions from transport experts on improving the profitability of RTC. The wastage has to be curbed to bring down unnecessary expenditure. Though it's a fact that the bus charges here are much lower compared to other states, our intention is not to increase the fares as it will burden the common people, who rely only on RTC to reach their destinations," Reddy added.
He said the Government will take a decision on implementing the High Security Number Plate project after reviewing the issue with experts and officials.
He assured that the government will take all the precautionary steps to ensure that the tragic incidents like Palem bus accident do not occur in future due to negligence of officials and drivers.
