Vijayawada Bus Station Buckles Under Record Crowds as Free Travel Scheme Drives Ridership Surge

RTC officials say occupancy on APSRTC buses has climbed to roughly 150% of seating capacity, up from 50-60% before the Streesakti free travel scheme, leaving commuters jostling for space at Vijayawada's bus station and on routes across the state.

By Newsroom

2 min read Published 23 June 2026 at 01:43 pm IST

Commuters at Vijayawada's main bus station are increasingly finding it difficult to even board a bus, let alone find a seat, as ridership on Andhra Pradesh's state-run bus fleet continues to climb sharply months after the state government rolled out free travel for women.

The strain was on full display on Sunday morning, when a Palle Velugu service bound for Dwaraka Tirumala was swarmed by waiting passengers before it could even pull up to its designated platform. Drivers and station staff say this kind of scramble has become routine, with buses often unable to stop cleanly at platforms because of the press of people trying to climb aboard.

According to regional transport officials, the occupancy ratio across the corporation's bus categories has risen to approximately 150 percent of rated seating capacity, compared with 50 to 60 percent before the free travel scheme took effect. An occupancy figure above 100 percent means buses are routinely carrying more standing passengers than there are seats to fill.

The surge traces back to the Streesakti scheme, which the state government launched in mid-August to let women travel free on five categories of state-run buses, including ordinary city services and long-distance Express and Metro Express routes. The policy was designed to ease the financial burden of daily commuting for women, but it has also reshaped travel patterns across the bus network far more quickly than the corporation appears to have anticipated.

At Vijayawada's bus station, platforms serving Eluru, Guntur district and Avanigadda routes have emerged as the most congested, with commuters describing long waits and overcrowded boarding even during off-peak hours. Passengers and local commuter groups are now pressing the road transport corporation to add extra services on these specific routes to absorb the higher demand.

Transport officials acknowledge that while ridership has grown substantially, the fleet expansion needed to match it has lagged behind, a gap that is likely to keep pressure on the busiest routes unless additional buses are deployed in the coming weeks.