The RTC is finding a solution to stay afloat by controlling its cargo service, which has been severely impacted by the Coronavirus shutdown. The APSRTC is converting some of its fleet into cargo buses to meet the needs of the general public in transporting their goods. Despite the fact that freight revenue has decreased since the lockdown was imposed on May 5, it still outperforms passenger services.

Because RTC buses can only run from 6 a.m. to 12 p.m., passenger service revenue has plunged. RTC is placing its hopes on freight services in the light of this. Freight income used to be above Rs 2 lakh per day before the closure, but it is presently hovering around Rs 90,000 per day. However, in many depots, this is higher than the revenue generated by passenger buses.

There are now 13 booking points in the Kadapa RTC Cargo Region. Freight transportation to Hyderabad, Tirupati, Anantapur, and other locations is in high demand. In the Kadapa area, special RTC goods transport vans are now in use. Daily services are provided by Depot Goods Transport (DGT) from Kadapa to Tirupati, Anantapur, Hyderabad, and BHEL. Generally, summer is a good time for freight. The second wave of Covid has affected the transportation business, which had been doing well.

At present, RTC is managing to generate a revenue of Rs 90,000 per day. Currently, the RTC is hardly generating a revenue of Rs 90,000 per day. It has suspended large-scale services in the district as part of precautionary measures ahead of the Corona surge. Bus services now run only from 6 am to 12 noon. As a result, not even 20 per cent of the buses are running. In the Kadapa region, there are 8 RTC depots and a fleet of approximately 800 buses, with only approximately 240 buses operating on a daily basis.