Leaders of the Andhra Pradesh Public Transport Department (APPTD) Employees’ Union have urged the authorities to immediately address the problem of increased workload due to overcrowding of buses following the introduction of the ‘Stree Shakti’ scheme, which entitles women to free travel in APSRTC buses.
In a statement on Saturday, the President of the Employees’ Union P. Damodara Rao said that the RTC employees were working with full commitment for the success of the scheme which was launched on August 15 this year. “However, neither the government nor the RTC authorities are paying attention to the serious problems being faced by conductors and drivers or the increased workload caused by the system. He said if these problems were not addressed immediately, it would be difficult for the RTC bus crew to continue with their duties.”
Mr. Damodara Rao took exception to booking cases against conductors even for minor procedural errors during working hours and said that the depot managers, without verifying the facts, suspended the employees based on the reports. “If this situation continues, it will be extremely difficult for conductors and drivers to perform their duties in the future,” he reiterated.
Later, while addressing the general meeting of the union, Mr. Rao demanded immediate resolution of long-pending promotions of staff in 15 divisions in seven combined districts, which had been put on hold due to legal complications.
Union state deputy general secretary MD Prasad demanded that the management should immediately procure at least 3,000 more buses and recruit 10,000 employees to reduce the increased workload of the employees.
Published – 20 Dec 2025 20:15 IST
