Vijayawada: The crackdown by the Andhra Pradesh road transport authority (RTA) on private bus operators flouting norms though resulted in curtailing some services, the initiative has failed to ring in the cash register of the state road transport corporation (ASRTC).
The RTA kicked off the drive against errant private bus players in the wake of recent accident in Maharashtra in which 29 people from the state were killed en route to Shirdi.
With some of the buses being seized for not conforming with law, and the operators putting some of the services on hold, it was expected that passengers will opt state transport buses, but this seems not to be the case, according to a senior official.
"Many seats on state long-distance services are vacant even though the private operators have suspended their services. The occupancy on state transport buses has fallen by nearly 50 per cent on long distance routes," Nagendra Prasad, deputy chief traffic manager, APSRTC, Vijayawada said on Thursday.
Another factors affecting the occupancy are the "inauspicious" month of Ashadha wherein people mostly refrain from social and religious functions and usually avoid embarking on pilgrimage, besides commencing of academic year marking end to summer vacations.
PTI
