The Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (APSRTC) has unveiled a massive plan to facilitate travel for the upcoming Sankranti festival in 2026. The corporation will deploy a total of 8,432 special bus services to manage the festive rush, with a pronounced focus on catering to passengers traveling within the state.
Breakdown of Pre and Post Festival Services
Out of the total special buses, the operations are split into pre and post-festival schedules. For the pre-Sankranti period, 3,857 special buses have been scheduled. The bulk of these, 3,500 buses, will operate as intrastate services connecting various towns and villages within Andhra Pradesh. The remaining 367 buses will be interstate services originating from the major neighboring cities of Hyderabad, Bangalore, and Chennai to bring passengers into the state.
Following the festival, to clear the return rush, 4,574 buses will run as post-Sankranti specials. This includes 2,500 intrastate services and 2,075 interstate services heading back to Hyderabad, Bangalore, and Chennai.
Strategic Shift Towards Intrastate Connectivity
According to APSRTC Executive Director (Operations) Appalaraju, a significant 71% of the total special services, amounting to 6,000 buses, will operate within Andhra Pradesh. Only 29% (2,432 services) are designated for interstate routes. This marks a strategic shift from previous years, giving greater priority to intrastate travel.
Appalaraju explained that this decision is heavily influenced by the implementation of the Stree Shakthi scheme. Anticipating a substantial surge in women passengers traveling at the district, mandal, and village levels, the RTC has strategically allocated most resources to meet this growing demand. "Top priority has been accorded to the operation of intrastate bus services to meet the growing demand from women passengers," the Operations ED stated.
Fleet Constraints and Coordination with Telangana
Officials noted that the announced 8,432 specials are fewer than the 9,097 special buses operated in the corresponding period last year. This reduction is attributed to a dearth of buses in the RTC fleet. To optimize available resources, the corporation is maximizing trips on demand-driven routes.
Furthermore, to handle the interstate passenger load, especially from Hyderabad, APSRTC is coordinating with the neighboring Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (TGSRTC). This partnership aims to enable TGSRTC to run more services to ferry passengers from Hyderabad and parts of Telangana into Andhra Pradesh, mitigating the impact of APSRTC's focused intrastate strategy.
