The State government has approved the procurement of 900 diesel buses, which will be added to the Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation’s (APSRTC) fleet by December, 2025. The State-run transportation has been facing an acute shortage of buses, leading to overcrowding across several routes in the State, realising the urgent need the Corporation had sought permission from the government to procure diesel buses on a temporary basis.
The government has agreed in principle to the proposal and the new additions will include both owned and hired buses, said the corporation officials.
Meanwhile, the APSRTC is also preparing to induct 1,050 electric buses over the next four months. These buses will operate under the Gross Cost Contract (GCC) model, with CSL (Convergence Energy Services Limited), a government-owned energy service company under Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL), identified as the operating firm.
The officials are hopeful that a combination of temporary diesel buses and the upcoming electric vehicles will help ease the current passenger load across the State.
According to sources, the senior officials in the Public Transport Department need immediate fleet expansion, but the process has slowed down owing to the government’s decision to induct only electric vehicles. The officials concede that the arrival of electric buses will take time due to the absence of necessary charging infrastructure and the long procurement cycle involved.
Under the GCC model, the ownership, operation and maintenance of electric buses are handled by a private operator, while transport corporations like the APSRTC pay the operator a fixed amount for running the buses. The decision on implementation of the GCC model has reportedly not gone down well with the Public Transport Department Employees Union, which has flagged fears of job security.
“We are not opposed to induction of electric buses in the RTC fleet. All we are asking for is that the government should purchase these e-vehicles and maintain them engaging the APSRTC staff and employees,” said the union’s State president P. Damodara Rao.
The State government’s Electric Vehicle/E-Mobility Policy (also called the Sustainable Electric Mobility Policy 4.0- 2024-29) aims to move the State’s transport sector toward battery-operated electric vehicles and cut down dependence on internal combustion engines. Under this policy, State’s target is to achieve 100% electrification of the fleet of APSRTC as part of the public transport transformation.