Reserved seats must go to seniors, PwDs, says APSRTC

Vijayawada: The Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (APSRTC) has announced a series of stringent measures to enhance travel safety, dignity and convenience for senior citizens and persons with disabilities (PwDs). The APSRTC has instructed the officials concerned to strictly ensure that seats earmarked for senior citizens and PwDs are allocated to them without fail across its services.The move comes in response to increasing complaints regarding difficulties faced by these passengers, including improper identification of earmarked seats, unauthorised occupation by other commuters and lack of timely intervention by onboard staff.Officials acknowledged instances of negligence, noting that staff, at times, failed to ensure the availability of reserved seating and did not extend adequate assistance or respect to eligible passengers.To address these concerns, the RTC has instructed the staff members to actively intervene when others occupy such seats and ensure compliance without delay.The corporation has also emphasised that all personnel must treat these passengers with courtesy and dignity and warned that strict action will be taken for mistreatment.In a passenger-friendly move, APSRTC clarified that valid identity proofs, including Aadhaar, voter ID, PAN card and passport, will be accepted in both physical and digital formats.Executive director (Operations) A Appala Raju has directed officials to implement these guidelines across all depots and operational units strictly. He asked officials to take up awareness initiatives, including gate meetings and display of instructions on notice boards, to ensure compliance.