Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (APSRTC) on Tuesday (December 16, 2025) launched an awareness drive for its advance ticket booking service on WhatsApp at 95523 00009 (‘Mana Mitra’), in both Telugu and English.
The company’s executive director (operations) A. Appala Raju has issued instructions to district public transport officials to support the process. They were asked to put up banners at bus stations, reservation desks, information counters and other prominent places in bus stations, display stickers inside buses, announce over public address system and widely publicize the new service of the corporations.
Pointing to the device currently available through the ‘Mana Mitra-WhatsApp’ management initiative launched by the government, Mr. Appala Raju said that it can be controlled with a few simple steps. Save the WhatsApp number ‘95523 00009’ or scan the QR code provided and send ‘Hello’ on WhatsApp, select ‘Select Service’, select ‘APSRTC Services’, select ‘Ticket Booking’, enter journey details and passenger information, make payment using available online payment options and get your confirmed ticket directly on WhatsApp, he said.
The State Transport Corporation currently issues advance ticket booking through several authorized channels such as ‘B2C franchises’ such as RedBus, AbhiBus, Paytm and Authorized Ticket Booking (ATB) agents.
Although the ticket booking facility has been made available through WhatsApp, it has been observed that the usage of this facility is very low among passengers due to lack of awareness. Hence, APSRTC decided to promote this method through wide publicity.
Published – 16 Dec 2025 20:57 IST
