APSRTC to introduce ‘Dolphin Cruise’ buses from Visakhapatnam

The Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (APSRTC) has recently ordered the procurement of 22 new Volvo buses. As per official statements, 16 of the new buses will be operated under the name ‘Dolphin Cruise’, and are set to improve the connectivity between Visakhapatnam and Amaravati.

In the official statement, RTC Vice-Chairman and Managing Director M Pratap, on Wednesday, said that the buses will be compliant with BS-VI emission norms as prescribed by the Central Government. The new buses, which will be ferrying passengers on select routes from Visakhapatnam, will be 14.5 metres long and 2.59 metre wide.

The APSRTC has reportedly informed that all the new Dolphin Cruise buses will be covered with artwork of important tourist and cultural destinations in Andhra Pradesh. Each bus will showcase a different theme including Araku, Coconut orchards of Konaseema, Kuchipudi, fabrics local to the state, Dhimsa, Tirupati’s Lord Venkateswara and the Kanakadurga temples among others. Through this initiative, the RTC hopes to provide employment opportunities for local artisans and showcase the state’s talent on the buses.

Addressing the delay in procuring 1,000 buses that were announced previously, the officials stated that it was due to Supreme Court’s order to the RTC officials in Delhi for upgrading the bus fleet from BS-IV to BS-VI emission norms. It was later stated that the bus manufacturers across the country had sought an extension of the deadline to March 31 for manufacturing the buses with the updated BS-VI emission norms. The APSRTC currently provides transport to over 65 lakh passengers daily.