The difficulties being faced by the staff due to the ‘Stree Shakti’ free travel scheme for women need to be addressed, says the APSRTC employees’ union.
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Leaders of the Andhra Pradesh Public Transport Department (APPTD) National Mazdoor Unity Association (NMUA) and the APSRTC Employees’ Union have demanded that the State government immediately withdraw its policy of allowing private operators to run electric buses in the corporation.In a statement on Wednesday, NMUA State president Y. Srinivasa Rao, APSRTC Employees’ Union State president P. Damodara Rao said that although employee unions had repeatedly urged the government and the APSRTC authorities to avail themselves of the subsidies being offered by the Central government for the purchase of electric buses and operate them directly through the RTC staff, their demands had been ignored.They alleged that not only the electric buses, but also prime lands belonging to the RTC depots were being handed over to private operators on lease.Saying that such moves could pave the way for privatisation, the unions had decided to work towards a united movement. Several long-pending issues in the corporation, including the difficulties faced by employees due to the ‘Stree Shakti’ free travel scheme for women, need to be addressed.A meeting of all employee unions and associations that existed in APSRTC before its merger with the government would be held in Vijayawada on June 8. The leaders said a Joint Action Committee (JAC) comprising all RTC unions would be formed to launch a united agitation on issues affecting the corporation and its employees.Pointing out that APSRTC had been serving lakhs of people for decades as a public sector undertaking, they expressed concern that government decisions leading towards privatisation were creating anxiety among employees. Published - June 03, 2026 09:06 pm IST
