Denizens as well as devotees visiting the temple city can now hop into a double-decker bus and enjoy the views of the city’s landmark destinations.
The double-deckered bus, part of the public transport system, was formally flagged off by the MLA and TTD Chairman Bhumana Karunakar Reddy on Thursday, in the presence of Mayor R. Sireesha Yadav, Deputy Mayor B. Abhinay Reddy and MCT Commissioner D. Haritha.
With this, Tirupati has become the first city in Andhra Pradesh and the second in South India to introduce a double-decker bus for city commuters.
The bus was procured by MCT from Switch Mobility, the electric commercial vehicles unit of Ashok Leyland, which involved a financial outgo of ₹2 crore. The air-conditioned bus with a seating capacity of 65, will be plied on four different routes across the city.
Mr. Karunakar Reddy, who boarded the bus on its maiden run along with the civic body’s corporators, hailed MCT for becoming the first urban local body to procure a double-decker bus. He also had a word of appreciation for the corporation for developing 18 master-plan roads across the city ahead of shifting its focus on meeting the city’s public transport requirement.
Based on the public response, we plan to procure four more buses, said Mr. Abhinay Reddy.