Apsrtc History

[Lara400]

[b]HYDERABAD: Circa 1932: Twenty-seven Albion buses and 166 employees. Platinum Jubilee year 2006: 19,322 buses and 1.17 lakh-plus employees.[/b]

It was first the Commercial Department of the Nizam's State Railway that ran buses since 1932. A full-fledged Road Transport Department took over the job in 1936 and carried on till 1958, when the APSRTC was born.

[b]Guinness record[/b]


Much water has flowed under the bridge, and when APSRTC turned 75, it did so with pride. Among other feathers in its cap, it is the largest fleet owner in the world with a listing in the Guinness Book of World Records.

For 20 years in a row, it received accolades for being the most fuel-efficient public transport undertaking and appreciable earnings per km.

It has the ultimate luxury service for those who can afford it--Swedish Volvo buses renamed `Garuda'--for use in the State. Still it has the distinction of not having increased fares with every hike in diesel prices, keeping in mind the social obligation.

About 75 per cent of its fleet runs on rural roads and the one-liner that APSRTC believes in is `A bus to every village that has a road'.

Long journey


Ever so often in the recent past, it has had the Sword of Damocles hanging on its head, but with help from successive Governments it always managed to evade what people feared - the end.

Governments always faced the worst of criticism with the Left flaying the `pro-privatisation' policies.

From the Albion to Volvo it has seen them all. And the latest in the long list is Ashok Leyland's offering `Meghdoot' with double air suspension. The then Managing Director V. Dinesh Reddy has named it `Terraplane', as if to connote that it would offer the comfort of a plane on the road.

[Lara400]

A Hyderabad RTD 1932 Albion viking bus,12 passenger gasoline engine with hand crank start..

[img]http://www.hindu.com/2006/11/29/images/2006112906450401.jpg[/img]

[ManOnFire]

super

[ManOnFire]

grandfathers drank honey smell my lips

[Lara400]

[u][b]Lifted from Yahoo Groups[/b][/u]


In mid-1950s Hyderabad while in primary school, I use to regulary travel on a similar type of bus pictured above. The bus route was Banjara Hills and the service was provided on twice-a-day basis, morning and evening. In those days the bus stops were few and the traffic very easy. I use to board the bus at Hyderabad Book Depot, (John Company) Abids Road. Most of the bus passengers were either relatives or friends. The scheduled Banjara route started from Kothi, Abids, Gun Foundry, Bashir Bagh, Public Gardens, Lakdikapul, A.C. Guards, Masab-Tank, and towards the mostly steep, rocky, dirt roads of Banjara Hills, with a final stop at Panjagutta..... The bus would then back-track the route into the city.


I can recall some passengers bringing their small Paan Daans and condiments along the bus and sharing it with other passengers. The bus was small, equipped with a smaller engine. This posed a unique challenge to driving skills and expertise of the bus driver to handle the steep grades, winding roads, blind curves, and rough and rocky terrain of Banjara Hills. Climbing the notorious steep hill called "Dharan Karan ka Chadaun" (named after Raja Dharan Karan) with loaded passengers, the bus use to crawl with transmission in the lowest gear, barely making the hill.. And one day came the expected, the bus while climbing this hill half way lost power, slowly started to roll back towards the giant rocky boulders of Banjara Hills ... My Aunt, Boonyadi Phoopi Jaan, who was sitting next to me noticed the grave situation and started to loudly recite the 'Ayat Al-Kursi'. The bus after much difficulty finally made the hill. The bus driver and conductor maintained an excellent relationship with their established passengers. The passengers routinely rewarded them with money and clothes on Eid or Holi occassions. And to top it all off---- they (driver and conductor) use to park the bus with passengers on board and join in on religious "Fateha Kay Kunday and Purees" at my sister's house situated at a Road #10 bus stop.

[Lara400]

Below few pictures of known British single/double deck half-cab buses, which serviced the Hyderabadi riders until 1960s and gradually substituting them with Ashok Leylands.....


1927 British Leyland Lion (KW 474) single decker half cab

[img]http://www.lvvs.org.uk/images/kw474_jersey.jpg[/img]

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1930 Leyland Lion LT1

[img]http://www.lvvs.org.uk/images/angelas5.jpg[/img]

[Lara400]

[img]http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-sLOeKFsCr1k/T5zb33G_7LI/AAAAAAAAG6I/sSK1H0uruco/s1600/edit+6.jpg[/img]

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APSRTC OLD Ordinary..check the extra-ordinary artist Mr.Kota Srinivasa Rao..Courtesy:Aha Naa Pellanta (OLD) TeLUGu Movie

[img]http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-whEMfX7PEAQ/T0JVnLN8XwI/AAAAAAAAAIs/KMX4z2IhfmM/s320/oldOrdinary.jpg[/img]

[Tadika]

All the best maaya [img]http://lh3.ggpht.com/-YL3uRLPsFB4/UWtlx5Pw6uI/AAAAAAAAMYs/t8XtX9RE5lQ/s150/RT.gif[/img]

[Lara400]

AN OLD APSRTC Semi-Luxury Bus

[img]http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-qcNtMYeRtb4/T0JUeplHKvI/AAAAAAAAAGA/g9lwvfj5nY0/s320/A15.png[/img]