‘Stree Shakti’ one of the most impactful initiative, says Transport Minister Ramprasad Reddy

Minister for Transport M. Ramprasad Reddy on Wednesday said Stree Shakti scheme has emerged as one of the most impactful and people-centric welfare initiatives in the State.

Speaking at a review meeting of the District Public Transport Officers (DPTOs) at RTC House in Vijayawada under the chairmanship of the Vice-Chairman and Managing Director C.H. Dwaraka Tirumala Rao, the Minister said though Andhra Pradesh was the last State in South India to introduce the scheme, nearly 40 crore women passengers have already availed of the free travel facility under the scheme.

He expressed confidence that APSRTC was now back on track and said modern technology-enabled buses would be introduced in the coming days. He said Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu wanted that all the new buses should be electric and that AC facility should be introduced even on Palle Velugu services in phases.

In addition to ticket revenue, APSRTC has generated ₹200 crore revenue through cargo services, the Minister noted and urged the drivers and conductors to continue to discharge their duties with utmost responsibility to ensure passenger safety and satisfaction. He also assured that issues related to hired buses would be resolved shortly.

Referring to plans on electric buses, Mr. Ram Prasad said they were already being operated to Tirumala and that infrastructure development for operation of electric buses was under way. He announced that 750 electric buses will be inducted soon in the ASPRTC fleet and that research on retro-fitting buses was in progress. Highlighting the importance of the PPP model, he said the National Highways would not have achieved such growth without it and that the model was being adopted across departments.

The Minister said several positive changes had taken place in APSRTC under the coalition government rule. Promotions were granted to employees, alternative employment was provided to 51 medically unfit employees, and out of 682 medically unfit employees, 200 attended the screening, of whom 149 were extended financial assistance.

The meeting discussed issues related to income, expenditure, bus operations and other key parameters up to December of the financial year 2025–26.

The Minister also inaugurated the newly constructed cargo delivery point and cargo office at Vijayawada bus station.