New buses for "Agency"

TSRTC and APSRTC combined have not more than 23000 buses. Remove the ones serving Hyderabad, Vijayawada, Visakhapatnam and Warangal cities, there are about 18000 buses doing intercity and village services of which 10,000 buses are of ordinary class which connect villages with nearest towns. Even after covering 70% of road network in Hyderabad city, Telangana State Road Transport Corporation’s Greater Hyderabad zone struggles with huge transit deserts. This network is served by a *whopping* 3500 buses.

Now imagine connectivity to all of the villages. If Hyderabad is struggling to have proper service with 3500 buses how are all of the numerous villages in Telugu states connected with 10,000 buses. According to APSRTC and TSRTC there are more than 1000 villages in telugu states that are still not connected. For a village to be considered connected, it is enough to have just one bus a day.

Gandikota, a popular tourist destination just 15 km from Jammalamadugu, gets just one bus every three hours and sunday service is not guaranteed. Gandikota is so close to the town yet so far from accessing services in the town. This is still a better example but there are villages that still get just one bus a day.

If connectivity is this bad in the plains, what about the villages and numerous thandas in the “agency” areas of Visakhapatnam and Vijayanagaram districts. Unlike the villages in the plains connecting these places is a challenge. Though APSRTC has been trying to connect these places with Midi buses operating out of Srungavarapukota depot, there are still villages that need to be connected.

Also, the quality of service has fell down over the last decade with no new buses inducted into the fleet. All of the buses scrapped because of their age have only been replaced by used saptagiri express buses from tirumala - tirupati. Finally, there is a refreshing change. APSRTC, with funds from SC ST Subplan has purchased 20 new midi buses for serving the far flung villages in “agency” area. Branded Telugu Velugu, these are the first entry level ordinary buses in APSRTC with a single front windshield. As with all the other buses, the buses have been fitted with on board GPS decimating information via PIS at bus stand and app.

The new buses will ply from Paderu and Sileru to Bakuru, Jolaput, Chintapalli and Gudem among other Villages. These are places that are already connected by at least one bus a day. With introduction of these new buses, we only hope there are more buses to Villages that are still left unconnected.

CORONA - The New "Garuda"

Almost an year back when there was news that APSRTC was going to launch a new brand Krishnaveni and will use Corona buses for it, we were surprised. Many thought this will be a replacement/ rebranded version of Indra buses. Of the many products that Corona, a pune based company that claims to offer chassis body integration, only sleeper buses were successful. When this news came out, we thought APSRTC is trying to give sleepers a shot again. In fact, they did try buying sleeper buses with 2+1 berth arrangement but the transport department said no owing to safety concerns. A few months after this news, everyone almost forgot APSRTC was going to get Corona buses. Surprisingly, Corona had an update on its website claiming APSRTC has placed order for about 100 buses.

The last new buses were added to garuda fleet was in 2011 a few weeks before Garuda Plus buses were introduced. After the introduction of Amaravati buses in 2016, we were almost sure that Garuda is a dying brand and no more new buses will be added in this category. Most of the 11Z buses were getting scrapped and 29Z buses were struggling to serve even after major repairs. We thought this also made sense because no operator in telugu states was buying 12M dual axle buses any more. Multi axle buses had become the norm. APSRTC surprised everyone with adding 20 Corona buses to its fleet.

                

A.P.S.R.T.C Brand New CORONA Garuda.

After KingLong(Cerita), Volvo, AL - Luxura, Isuzu, it's the entry of "CORONA" into the Garuda Fleet. In Collaboration with "Deccan Auto" located in the Neighbour State's Capital Hyderabad, CORONA has delivered the First Batch of 20 Buses to the Corporation, Costing Approx. 65-70lakh each

                     

Alloted to the Core Depots of Vijayawada(VJA) & Autonagar(ATNR), these Brand New Beauties are Initially to be deployed on Vijayawada - Hyderabad ; Vijayawada - Bengaluru & Vijayawada - Chennai Routes.

APSRTC’s earlier attempts at using buses of brands other than Volvo in the  Garuda  fleet were not really successful. For passengers, Garuda meant Volvo and to be frank many referred to them as just Volvo buses rather than Garuda buses. Let us wait and watch how these buses perform and if passengers will accept these as Garudas.

 

A.P.S.R.T.C Brand New CORONA Garuda.

 

A.P.S.R.T.C Brand New CORONA Garuda.

A.P.S.R.T.C Corona Garuda of Vijayawada Depot

A.P.S.R.T.C Corona Garuda of Autonagar Depot

 Have a HAPPY & SAFE Journey..!!

Text by : Ratnam and Revanth  

Pictures by : © Revanth  Chowdary

E Pushpak

Gold Stone - BYD 's Electric Bus on trial with TSRTC Greater Hyderabad Zone

With  funds made available under National Mission on Electric Mobility (FAME), Major state transport undertakings are planning to try and switch at least a part of the fleet to cleaner electric fuel. Cities like Hyderabad, Bangalore and Mumbai are expected to add a few electric buses to their fleet. In fact, Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC)' board, which successfully tested a BYD electric bus 2 years ago has passed a resolution to buy 150 buses. These buses cost more than 2 crore a unit. Hence, citing lack of funds, BMTC has decided to ask for funding under the FAME scheme. It has to be seen how this process goes through. BYD, a Chinese company which earlier supplied an imported unit from China to be used in Bangalore for test, has now entered in to a partnership with Gold Stone, a Hyderabad based infrastructure company to assemble and supply the buses in Inida to bring down the costs. Gold Stone has now supplied its first bus assembled in India to Telangana State Road Transport Corporation - Greater Hyderabad Zone (TSRTC-GHZ) to test the bus.

The bus arrived in Hyderabad in the last week of February and was planned to be launched along with a larger lot of inter city buses. Although, owing to the MLC Election code which is in force, the idea of launching it with fanfare was dropped. We were surprised to see the bus serving as a Pushpak - a service dedicated to transport people to and from the Airport. A2 starts  at Jubilee Bus Stand and terminates at the Airport picking up passengers at Secretariat and  Mehedipatnam . This bus follows the routes 5K and 251 . 

More on this bus very soon !    

Pictures and Text by 

Revanth Chowdary

Colors of Metro

When did Hyderabad get it's first Pink bus

When did we stop having the Maroon Metro express buses

What is the color of metro express buses now 

We made a quick graphic to explain the evolution of metro express buses in Hyderabad. Enjoy !

graphic by ratnam for loveofz , we will upload the graphics on commons soon

ప్రగతి రథం - ప్రజల నేస్తం

అదిగో అందరి బస్సు ఆర్డినరి బస్సు. దశాబ్దాలు గా తన చక్రాలు మీద పల్లె బ్రతుకులను ఆప్యాయం గా పలకరించే నేస్తం. తరాలు మారినా ప్రజల అంతరాలలో నాటుకుపోయిన రవాణాబంధువు.

పల్లె దైనందిన జీవితం లో అదొక భాగం. పల్లెకు, పట్నం కు అదొక వారధి. గందరగోళ పట్నం నాగరికత నుంచి పచ్చని పల్లెటూరుకు వెళ్ళే నిత్య బాటసారి . రహదారి ఎలా ఉన్నా, తన పరిస్థితి ఎలా ఉన్నా తనని సరిగ్గా  పట్టించుకోకపోయినా ఏనాడు విరామం ఎరగని శ్రామికురాలు. పచ్చని పంటపొలాలు, ఆకలి తీర్చే రైతన్న స్వేదాన్ని ఆకలి కేకలతో ఏడ్చే ఊరి చివర బ్రతుకులను, భూములను మింగే భూస్వాములను, పాఠశాలలకు పరిగెత్తే పసి మొగ్గలను, ఏటిలో ఈదులాడే మూగ జీవాలను, ఎండిన బ్రతుకులను, బీడువారిన భూములను, స్వేఛ్ఛగా నిరంతరం సంచరించే పశు పక్షాదులను కొండ అంచులకు, లోయ సోయగాలను, అందమైన సీమ సోయగాలను, పిల్ల పైరు గాలి పలకరింపును, ఎన్నో మరెన్నో చూసింది.

అమెరికా నుండి వచ్చు పిల్లలను ఆప్యాయంగా తల్లిదండ్రులకు చేర్చి మళ్ళీ వెళ్ళేటప్పుడు వారి మూగ రోదనను మౌనంగా వినింది. కని, మోసి  పెంచిన పిల్లలను పెళ్లి చేసి పట్నంకు పంపే తల్లితండ్రుల హృదయంలో తెలియని ఒక దుఖం చూసింది. పెద్ద చదువులకు ఉన్నత ఆశయాలతో పట్నం, నగరం వెళ్ళే పసి మనసులను పలుకరించింది.
పల్లెకు ఆకలి వేసినా, అనారోగ్యమొచ్చినా, ఏ అవసరం వచ్చినా, అన్నింటికీ తన ఉపయోగం పడింది. తల్లితండ్రులని పోషించడానికి టాపీ పట్టుకొని తెలుగు నేల చివరకు వెళ్ళేవారిని పట్నం బస్సు స్టాండ్ ల వరకు వదిలిపెట్టింది. ప్రతి పల్లెటూరి వాసి హృదయం లో, జీవితం లో ఏదో ఒక రూపం లో అనుబంధం కలిసి ఉన్న చక్రం పల్లె బస్సు చక్రం. ఇంతటి ప్రాముఖ్యత కలిగిన పల్లెవెలుగు గురించి వార్తల్లో సంస్థకి నష్టాలు తెచ్చే గుదిబండలు గా మారాయని తప్ప ఇంకేమన్నా వినిపిస్తుందా. పల్లెవెలుగు కే గాని ప్రాణం ఉంటె మనకి ఎం చెప్పేది ?

పల్లెవెలుగు మాటల్లో ...

నా వల్ల నష్టం వస్తుందంటే అది మీ అసమర్థత కానీ, నా ప్రయత్నం లో ఎప్పుడూ లోపం లేదు. నాకు గుర్తింపు లేక పోయినా, మీ గౌరవం కోసం పోస్టర్లలో  volvo, scania, indra, super luxury సరసన ఏ రోజు నాకు చోటు ఇవ్వకపోయినా నేను పట్టించుకోను. పట్నం బస్టాండ్ లో, సగటు మనిషి అవసరం లో, పల్లె గుండెలో, ప్రకృతి ఒడిలో, పల్లె కాలువ గట్టు మది లో, నన్ను ఎప్పుడు తలుచుకునే మీ బాల్యం ఙ్నాపకాలలో ఎప్పుడు ఉంటాను. నాకు నేనే పోటి, లేదు నాకు సాటి.

పల్లెవెలుగులను, వాటి ప్రాముఖ్యతను మర్చిపోఎలోపు గ్రామాలకు అవి ఎంత ముఖ్యమో తెలుసుకుందాం. తెలంగాణ లోని గుండంపల్లి గ్రామ ప్రజలు మరియు వారి ధనలక్ష్మి కథ (ఆంగ్లం లో) ..

Both APSRTC and TSRTC Don't generally send new/medium aged buses on night out services . Generally, they use 12-15 years old buses for night out services. But here, it is a different story !

Bus no : 01Z-0042
Name : Dhanalaxmi
Route : Nirmal-Gundampally.

Gundampally(Samundarpally) is a village located on the banks of river Godavari. This is a special village in the region served by Nirmal depot. People from this village treat the BUS as their own. They sweep and wash the bus twice a day. They treat the bus as their “Dhanalakshmi” - the bus which brings Wealth to their life.

The people of Gundampally fitted a clock in the bus along with first aid kit and Tape Recorder with the money of village development committee. They also arranged a person from village with monthly salary to keep the bus clean and wash it daily. He also serves the crew during night halt. They also decorate the bus with special flower garlands and mango leaves during special occasions and festivals.

Night halt parking is provided at panchayat office. A Double Room has been constructed and a Cooler,Fan,Fridge,Mineral Water and TV have been provided for the CREW who Halt in village at Night.

At a time when we are seeing more and more villages moving away from buses to shared autos and cabs this village has shown the way. Their effort to support a service so Important should be lauded.

పల్లెలు ఎప్పుడు ప్రగతి రథ చక్రాల  వెలుగులతో సంతోషం గా ఉంటాయని ఆశిస్తూ, శెలవు.

telugu text by kiran dhanalakshmi story by krishna 

Experiments

We are starting this year with an Experiment, 

We are starting this year with an interactive map ! 

Early last year, we thought of doing a series "Know Your Corporation". The idea was to explain the organizational structure and various other things we know about APSRTC and TSRTC using various media. We spent the last year building our research and learning new skills.

Depots by Region is a (work in progress) map with all of the depots in Telangana mapped and segregated according to the regions they belong to. We hope to add more meta data to this map in the coming days.

What do you want to see ? Let us know in comments ! 

Depots by Region

Hover on the points for the depot name
Use the search function to find a place

Have fun using the map :)
More interesting stuff coming your way !

via GIPHY

ICONS !

Over the last ten months we have been trying to create content in different media. We started with GIFs and then progressed to produce videos. We have finally started working on a long pending project, that is creating an Icon Set for city buses in Hyderabad, Visakhaptanam, Warangal and Vijayawada. He are some of the icons we created till now.

The 11Z Bus

The BSIV Bus

The 28Z Bus

Marcopolo Non A/C Bus

Marcopolo A/C Bus

Finally.. #NotMyMetro

All of the icons are up on Wikimedia Commons

Access them HERE 

LOVEofZ at Krishna Pushkaralu

We went to KrishnaPushkaralu this year at Vijayawada to see if APSRTC learnt anything from special bus operations last year for GodavariMahaPushkaralu. Here is a snippet from what happened. We will be compiling and uploading more videos overtime.

Ultra Deluxe ?

A lot of my friends have been complaining about "unreasonable" fare hike in ultradeluxe buses. Lot of them acknowledge that this is because of the re-branding of deluxe as ultra deluxe. Having said that, many also complain that there has been no increase in comfort. To quote one of my friend "they just repainted the bus and changed the seats - they claim there are pushback seats, but they are uncomfortable". It is true that the "rebranding" exercise involved repainting and changing the earlier static seats to "pushback" seats with a 15° incline (super luxury and garuda buses have a higher incline angle) . I also agree this does not mean any increase in comfort. but why did they do that ? The corporation says it did so because it wanted to deliver a better "product". but, is that true?

The argument I am going to make might not make any sense but, that is the only argument that sounds plausible to me at this moment.

Initial investment on an Express bus and a Deluxe bus are similar . Express has 50+ seats and Deluxe has 30+ seats . Operating costs too are similar for both the brands . But, considering the little price difference between two brands, it does not make sense for the corporation to operate deluxe buses with such a low fare when that can add more seats and earn much more per a bus.

If that is possible, they could have done it . What is the reason they did not do it ?

On short distance routes where the corporation operates aggressively at frequencies less than 15 minutes, deluxe buses have been a hit. Express buses on such routes have not been received at the same scale. So, it makes sense for the corporation to operate deluxe buses given that passengers are looking for comfort.

 

A.P.S.R.T.C New ULTRA DELUXE Bus.

Now, coming back to the question of re-branding

If the corporation has to continue to operate deluxe buses for the reasons said before, it makes sense only if they increase the earnings per bus. They could not have increased the fares as it could have gone down wrong among the passengers. Now the easiest way to do it was to just re-brand.

 

A.P.S.R.T.C New ULTRA DELUXE Bus.

 

A.P.S.R.T.C New ULTRA DELUXE Bus.

An Ultra Deluxe Bus Glowing in Defiyance...

There is a longer history to the attempts at re-branding deluxe buses. I will tell that story sometime else.

Re-branding was to increase earnings per bus and nothing else.

‪#‎apsrtc‬ ‪#‎rebrand‬ ‪#‎loveofz‬

Written by Ratnam.
Pictures used for GIF will be up on LOVEofZ 's commons handle soon

Garuda Plus Once Again

TSRTC Brand New Volvo Garudaplus Buses.

TSRTC's New GarudaPlus buses (VOLVO B9R 2016 Face lifted Model) waiting to head out for registration at JBS, Secunderabad.

Pictures are available on Wikimedia Commons here and here