The Andhra Pradesh Road transport Corporation has made plans for assured power supply to its depots in the state.
This was disclosed by A K Khan, managing director and vice-chairman of APSRTC, while speaking to the media at Rajahmundry on Tuesday.
Khan said that solar panels were being installed in 105 depots out of 212 depots in the state, and that this process would be completed by the end August this year.
He said that this would enable depots to have power supply for their regular needs. He added that one such wind power unit at Anantapur produces 10 MWs.
Speaking on the need to increase the OR (occupancy ratio) in RTC buses, Khan said that efforts were being made to increase it from the present level of 71-74% to 77-78% by providing better amenities and punctuality. He said that a 1% increase of the OR would the RTC an income of Rs. 60 crore.
With regard to a clamp-down on illegal operations, which he said are badly affecting the RTC, Khan said that 31 assistant motor vehicle inspectors were taken from the Transport department on deputation.
He further said that the recent hike of diesel prices by the central government towards bulk purchases would cost the RTC Rs. 715 crore per year, which is Rs. 2 crore per day.
He said that certain measures to meet this heavy expenditure were discussed in the recent state-level EDs' meeting, and that EDs were given zonal-level discretion about issues that include purchasing of diesel at retailers, reduction of unproductive mileage, and minimization of unnecessary services.
The RTC MD said that the RTC had recently bagged a safety award for its accident ratio of 0.09 per 1 lakh kilometers. (INN)