RTC deploys 425 buses to Tirumala for Garuda Seva amid passenger surge

APSRTC Zonal Executive Director, Kadapa, R.R.K. Kishore and District Public Transport Officer, Tirupati, K. Srinivasa Rao holding a review meeting in Tirupati on Thursday. | Photo Credit: K.V. Poornachandra Kumar In a bid to increase the fleet strength and provide ease of commute to the devotees, the Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (APSRTC) on Thursday announced the deployment of 425 buses to make 6,354 trips on the Tirumala ghat roads on Friday, when the most sought-after Garuda Seva will be performed as part of the ongoing Navaratri Brahmotsavams.The decision to mobilise buses from the neighbouring districts came during a review meeting chaired by APSRTC’s Zonal Executive Director of Kadapa zone, K.K.R. Kishore, bracing for the Garuda Seva event, which is observed on the fifth day and is considered the most significant celestial procession; hence, the hill shrine is thronged by the maximum number of devotees.Officials expect a 20-25% rise in passenger traffic for the current Brahmotsavam, compared against Salakatla Brahmotsavam conducted last month in the view of the Dasara holidays.While 12.3 lakh passengers are predicted to travel by the RTC fleet during the nine days, the officials expect around 2.3 lakh on Garuda Seva day alone. The corporation has readied 341 buses from the Tirupati district, and added 28 more from neighbouring districts, taking the total to 369. Additionally, 56 spare buses eligible to ply on the ghat road have been kept aside as reserve.Against the 3,074 services that ply regularly a day, the RTC will run 6,354 individual services on Friday alone.“Of the total requirement of 454 drivers [on Friday], we have pooled 304 from other depots, arranged 100 on-call drivers and mobilised 50 drivers through internal pooling,” Mr. Kishore said, adding that at least 216 conductors have been drafted from other districts. Published - October 15, 2026 08:07 pm IST