UNIT 5 CASE STUDIES IN

PUBLIC RELATIONS
Stucture
5.0 Objectives
5.1 Introduction
5.1.1 Modes of Transport
5.1.2 Issues in Transport Public Relations
5.2 Road Transport
5.2.1 APSRTC - a Profile
5.2.2 Corporate Philosophy
5.3 Transport Public Relations
5.4 APSRTC's Public Relations Set-up
5.4.1 Public Relations with Regular Manager
5.4.2 Head Office: structure of a Professional Public Relations Department
5.4.3 Public Relations Functions
5.5 Multi-media Approach
5.6 Internal Public Relations : Employee Relations

5.7 Training
5.7.1 Employees Motivation Poster
5.7.2 Drivers Poster
5.7.3 Code for Conductors
5.8 External Public Relations : Passenger Relations
5.8.1 Educative Slogans ,
5.8.2 BusasaMedia
5.8.3 Bus Timings
5.8.4 Features
5.8.5 Radio and Television
5.8.6 Corporate Publications
5.9 Meet the Commuters
5.10 Let Us Sum Up
5.1 1 Suggested Reading
5.12 Check Your Progress : Model Answers
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5.0 OBJECTIVES
This is the last u ~ u in
t Course IV. Through the various units of all the five Blocks, we have
attempted to famillanse you with the basic concepts in PR, its nature, ethics, career aspects,
growth and development of PR, education and training, Principles of PR, functions and
structureof PR department, planning of PR campaigns, PR practices in governmental and other
organisations, PR tools and media etc. Thus we hope that you have absorbed the essentials, of
PR activity.
You are now led to take a look into a real life situation of applied PR. We bring you a case-study
of AndhraF - adesh State RoadTransport Corporation (APSRTC). Besides thoroughlyenjoying
this exiting study, you should be able to do the following on completing this study-
State the issues involved in running a transport company;
Identlfy the need for PR for a road transport corporation;
Outline the ideal administrative set-up for a road transport corporation;
Public Relations Understand the corporate philosophy of APSRTC ;
Strategies
List the PR functions of a transport corporation;
State the advantages of a multi-media PR approach ;
Explain the need for employee relations and how training can motivate employees;
Discuss the commuter relations programme conducted by APSRTC;
d
Evaluate the results and impact of PR activity conducted by APSRTC.

5.1 INTRODUCTION
You would have often heard the term 'Case Study'--elsewhere;as also in some units of Course
IV, where it finds amention as being important in every discipline. The dictionaryexplains this
term as being "the study of a person or group of people in order to leam about their social
development and relationship with other people in society". Similarly,the purpose of a PR case
study is to analyse the applications of principles of PR in an organisational situation in order
to improve the relations between that organisation and its various publics. The case study also
reveals certain results which are in quantifiable terms. In fact, case histories are the best way
of studylng practical public relations.
In this case study, an attempt has been made to explain how an effective PR plan facilitates the
efficient functioning of a PR Department in an organisation. There is a lot of difference in the
PR activitiesof an organisationhaving a full- fledged departmentas opposed to an organisation
without a PR set - up. Therefore, an effective PR set-up is a pre-requisite for successful public
relations work in an organisation.
Many companies have a PR set-up in the Head Office without any such machinery in the field
units. But field units are the nerve centres for operationalpurposes 'and it is imperativeto ensure
presence of PRpersonnel there. For e.g. the Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation
has a unique PRset-up aombining both professional PR Managers and other Mangers entrusted
with PR work. There are three main features in APSRTC's PR set-up:

1) Firstly, the creation of a separate PR department on par with other departments like
Finance, Personnel, Traffic, Engineering, etc.

2) Secondly, appointment of a Director -Public Relations, who have earlier worked as

Director of Information and Public Relations Dtpartment of a State Government as
Head of the Department for Public Relations work.

3) Thirdly, creationof PRCells ineach of 180 BusDepots, 34 Divisional and 10

RegionalManagers' Offices. Regular Managers like Depot Manager, Divisional Manager
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and Deputy Traffic Manager .in the Regional mces are designated as ex-officio PR '
Managers. Moreover, they are given special training in professional PR work, and
guidance is given by the PRDepartment at the Head Office. This case study pertaining
to APSRTC gives you a comprehensive survey of the role of the transport industry,
functions of transport PR, and actual functioing of APSRTC's PR Department in the
Head Office,and similar cells in the field units, the public relations techniques used, and
the PR approaches towards employees and passengers. Let us examine it step by step.

5.1.1 Modes of Transport

Before we proceed, let us first take a look at the transport industry in its entirety. Transport is
not only a major industry by itself but also one that holds the key to all other industries. In the
modem world, transportation assumes great importance, as people not only travel but also
transfer goods and cargo from one place to another. The modes of transport can be said to
comprise primarily : 1.The Roadways, 2. The Waterways, 3. TheRailways and 4. The Airways.
Each system has its own role to play in the transport map of the country. Management of these
transport systems not only poses the biggest challengeto the discipline of modem management
but also demands distinct techmques and skills in handling colossal traffic, of both men and
material. Any mis-management in the transport system could result in a crisis affecting
millions.
 Goods transport is shared both by public and private sectors. The Indian Railways, the Indian Case Studies in
Airlines, the Shipping Corporation of India and State Road Transport Corporations are the Public Relations
public enterprises which provide transport services to the people in our country.
Transport is one industry where major crisq erupt with little or no advance warning. A crisis
in this context can be anything ranging from a strike to a serious accident, or an act of sabotage
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with consequcnt loss of life. Some examples are: the strike of Indian Airlines Commercial
Pilots Association during December-January, 1992-93. The strike of the All India Lony
Transport Owners, the Air India plane crash and innumerable railway accidents, daily bus
accident$. These, news items demonstrate how the normal life of the people gets affected by
these disruptions. These crises are of serious concerns both to the transport management, the
passengers and the public at large.
People handling PRfor a long distance transport corporation have one of the most demanding
positions in the profession.
The author worked as Director (PR), for a major State Public Sector Transport Corporation
carrying about one crore passengers daily. Whenever the telephone rang at the office or at
home, he never knew what to anticipate -whether it was going to be a simple enquiry about a
particular bus service or news of a serious accident. Transport PR needs to react quickly and
decisively to all such problems.

5.1.2 Issues in Transport Public Relations

The main issues that determine the need in the public relations programme in a transport
undertaking are: C

1) Environmental Issues: Transport is one of the major targets for environmentalists.

Motor vehicles, especially lorries, buses, are seen as creating atmospheric pollut6n and
adding to road congestion. In metropolitan cities, buses cause traffic congestion. Ships
often carry hazardous cargo like oil, which if it spills by accident, directly threatens the
environment. Air transport, likewise, creates noise pollution which is also an
environmentalthreat.

2) Safety: Inevitably, safety is a perennial problem for those involved with transport, since
accidentsdo happen even in the best-run organisations. Road accidents are an every-day
phenomenon. This is a challenge for transport public relations to orient the attitudes of
the management towards safety procedures. The safety issue requires a separate
communication format for crew maintenance, engineers, in addition to whatever is
generally available for employee relations.
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3) Employee Relations: The importance of employee relations in transport cannot be
underestimated. Poor production, poor quality opcrations, indifferent service the need
to work odd hours are a few areas where employees constantly require motivation.
Hence there is a need for good, effective communication between the management and
employees and between employee group as well.

4) Crisis Management :Transport has a high requirement for skilled crisis management.
This is to handle pollution problems, or accidents related to the disruption of services
due to poor weather or natural calamities.

5) Media Relations: In transport, media relations includeiealing not only with the general
press and broadcast media, but often with an extensive and lively trade and professional
media as well. Effective mcdia relations get better coverage and recognition for good
performance in the transport sector.

6) Investor Relations: It is essential that the message for investors is always handled by
the PR department so that the differing needs of employee and individual shareholders
on the one hand and of the investment analysists and institutional finance managers on
the others, are recognised.

7) Government Relations: Substantial changes in fares or complaints against the level of

service provided, often have to be presented carefully to the government and government
regulated agencies as much as to the media and the customers. Constant relations with
central officials of state governments are a must for a transports organisation.
I Public Relations 8) Corporate Identity :The need for aclear image and identity for a transport undertaking
Strategies in the competitive market place is essential. Corporate identity as a 'good' company has
to be projected at all times. Air India is one example where corporate identity is inherent
in every message projected by the company.
1

9) Community Relations: Customer relations, crisis management, sponsorships, are

other key areas which strengthen the roots of Community PR in the transports sector.
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Check Your Progress 1

Note : i) Answer the following questions in the space provided below.
ii) Compare your answers with those given at the end of this unit.
1) .1dent@ a few crisis situation that may arise from an airliner.
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2 ) Make a list of the key publics for a road transport company.
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5.2 ROAD TRANSPORT

You would recognise that road transport has a very important role in the growth of the national
economy of a country. It stimulatesthe development and growth of trade and industry, culture
and civilisation.Bus travel alone represents 80% of the road-basedpassengertravel. That is why
India is basically a "Bus Country" Almost in every state there is a State Road Transport
Corporation providing transport facilitiesto the people. Some also have private bus operators.
Having known the background of transports industry, let us proceed to the specificcase studies.
As has been said earlier, PRis the key to the success of any organisation in its relations with
both internal and external publics. This case study describes the PR set-up in the Andhra
Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation and its role in creating a better impact on the
employees, passengers and the media.

5.2.1 APSRTC -a Profile

The Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (APSRTC) which is the country's
second biggest transport undertaking (next to Maharashtra), has a fleet strength of 15,200
buses and 1,20,000 employees. Every day, about one crore passengers are transported to
different destinations by covering approximately 44.20 lakhs kms. (as of 1993). The corporate
Office is located in the State Capital, Hyderabad.
Administrative Set-up : APSRTC is headed by a Chairman who presides over the board
meetings. The Vice-Chairman-cum-ManagingDirector the ChefExecutive ofthe Corporation.
He is responsible for its efficient functioning. The Executive Head is assisted by Executive
Directors and the Heads of Departments in the Head Office. There is one Executive Director
for each major wing such as; E'xecutive Director (Administration), Executive Director
(Provisioning), Executive Director (Operations), Executive Director (Engineering), etc. In
addition, there are 15 Heads of Departments, each in-charge of individual branches like
Personnel, Traffic, Mechanical, Stores, Medical, Accounts, Civil Engineering, Vigilance, and
Public Relations.
Regional Set-up : The Corporation is divided into 10 administrative regions, each headed by Case Studies in
Public Relations
a Regional Manager as Executive Officer. The Regional Advisory Council with a non-official

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as Chairman advises on matters relating to the proper functioning of the Corporation in that
particular region.
The 10 regions are:

1) Bhagyanagar Region (Twin Cities of Hyddrabad and Secunderabad),

2) Golconda Region (Headquarters, Hyderabad)
3) Karimnagar Region
4) Warangal Region
5) Nellore Region
6) CuddapahRegion
7) Tirupati Region
8) Vijayawada Region
9) VizianagaramRegion and
10) RajamundryRegion.
Divisions : The 10 regions are subdivided into 34 divisions. Almost each district constitutes
a division headed by a Divisional Manager. They supervise the operations and work of the
Depots.
Depots :The Depot is the lowest administrative unit headed by one Depot Manager. There are
180 Depots in the State. Depot is the king-pin of the corporation where bus ?perations
originate. As many as 345 bus stations and 1270 bus shelters had been set-up by the end of
January 1993 under the jurisdiction of various depots.

5.2.2 Corporate Philosophy

The corporate objectives of APSRTC can be summarised as:

1) To provide an efficient, adequate, economical and properly co-ordinated system of

transport service in the state;

2) To provide for its employees suitable conditions of service, including fair wages and
other amenities;

3) To manufacture, purchase and maintain vehicles, appliances required for the purpose of
any of the activities of the corporation;

4) To provide facilities for storage and delivery of goods;

5) To enter into contracts for exhibition of posters and advertising boards on and in the
vehicles and premises of the corporation and also for advertisementof tickets and other
forms issued by the corporation to the public;
\

6) To .let vehicles on hire for the carriage of passengers and goods.

Activity 1
Imagine you are the PRO of the Indian Railways and are required to educate the public
on various aspects of safe travel. Who would be your publics and what would be the
basic themes. Outline a few of them.

5.3 TRANSPORT PUBLIC RELATIONS

An important aspect of transport management is the management of passenger relations by
providing required transport infornlation. A well-informed passenger is considered the best
passenger. Such an individual not only follows the rules and regulations of the transport
Public Relations
Strategies
organisation but also helps the transport company in its smooth functioning. In this context, it
is the basic function of the transport management to provide timely and correct information
about 'the movements of persons and goods. This information alone keeps the public fully
informed about the transport network. Any communication gap between transport management
and the passenger leads to anxiety and confusion. It should realise that information and public
relations constitute the life-blood of any transport system.
Judged from the above factors, Public Relations can play a vital role in public transport
corporations by creating the right environment and understandingbetweenthe managenlent and
its publics, particularly,the passengers.The need for PRin a public sector transport undertaking
like APSRTC or any other passenger transport undertaking is all the more essential as it is a
"service industry" wholly owned by the public and dealing with millions of passengers. It is the
primary, task of PRO in the transport sector to keep passengers informed.
Activity 2
If youare a regular commuter heavily dependentupon the state transport services, what
kind of information would you appreciate having fiom the authorities'! You may
interview a few regular bus commuters for arriving at the answers.

5.4 APSRTC'S PUBLIC RELATIONS SET-UP

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In 198 I , aRassessment of the functioning ofthe PRset-up in APSRTC was made which brought
,to light certain salient features relatant not only to this transport undertaking but also to similar
undertakings like the Ra~lwaysand the Airlines. Earlier, PR in APSRTC was being practised on
an adhoc basis. There was no well-defined public relations policy for the Corporation to
provide guidance in dealing with its internal and external publics on a sustained basis. For all
PRprogrammes, the press was the only medium utilised by issuing press releases on important
. matters. Though the corporation had been rendering a great service to the public by provlding
them unfailing bus transport, the media would highlight only accidents and negative aspects.
Failures were discussed at length while major achievements went un-noticed.

Now, Public Relations is mostly a top management function. If this function is entrusted either
to personnel or marketing department, it tends to promote the specific interest of only those
departments. In fact, PRis intended to promote the overall corporate image and such animage
can be built only when this subject is directly placed under the Chef Executive who is'overall
in-charge ofthe entire organisation. It is in this context, that APSRTC created a separate public
Relations Department with a Director, Public Relations, as the Head, who was made
responsible directlyto the Managing Director. In this way, the PRDepartement was on par with
other departements in the Corporation like Personnel, Traffic Engineering, Financre etc. in
status.

5.4.1 PublicRelations with Regular Manager

In 1987, the Corporation was confronting the bus-staff ratio problem. It had to reduce its work
force to maintain certain norms. When the new PR department was created, the question of
appointing additional staff in the field carne'up for consideration. The management was not in
aposition to increase staifany further. As such, a u n i q u e set-up
~ ~ was introduced by entrusting
the Public Relations work as an additional work assigned to the regular Managers. Since the
Traffic Managers at different levels were primarily responsible for the management of traffic
and provision of amenities to passengers, the management in APSRTC thought that it would be
better to entrust the PR work to all such Managers who were any way dealing with the
passengers on a day to day basis.
Another reason for entrusting the PR job to the regular Managers was that if a separate PRO
was appointed at every level, i.e., Depot, Division, Region, the basic information required by
that officer would have to be collected only from the regular unit office. In the process, the PR
official would have to depend on the regular Manager for all information. In this context,
instead of allocating the PRwork separately to an exclusive officer in the field, the Corporation
decided to entrust the PR responsibility to the regular Managers at the Region, Division and
Depot levels. It was the main objective of the Corporation to manage a passenger-relations
programme by making use of the available resources, without additional staff. However, care
was taken to impart PR training to all the Managers entrusted with the passenger relations
programme.
 5.4.2 Head Office: Structure of a Professional PublicRelations Department Case Studies in
Public Relations
The Djrector, Public Relations was to report to the Vice-chairman and Managing Director. The
Chief Public Relations Officer, Deputy Chief Traffic Manager (Liaison), Editor-house
magazine and Asst. PRO'S were made responsible to the Director-Public Relations.
At the Regional level, the Deputy Chief Traffic Manager of every region was designated as Ex-
Officio PRO at the Regional level, to be incharge of public relations This officer was to report
to the Regional Manager and be assisted by one Senior Clerk. Their duties consisted of
attending to ~ u b l irelations
c work and passenger complaints,filing press clippings, distribution
of house magazines and doing other public relations work. .

In view of the fact that Bhagyanagar region, is Iocated in Hyderabad city and that many
newspaper offices are also located in the city, a separate PRO was posted for this region alone.
At the Divisional level, the Divisional Manager was designated as Ex-Officio Divisional Public
Relations Manager to be assisted by a Traffic Inspector and one Junior Clerk to look after PR
activities and customer complaints.
At the Depot level, the Depot Manager was designated as Ex-Officio Depot Public Relations
Manager to be assisted either by the Chief Inspector or Traffic Inspector of the Depot as
nominated by the Depot Manager. The Chief Inspector was given the assistance of one Asst.
Depot Clerk to look after the work of PR in the depot.

5.4.3 PublicRelations Functions

One of the commonly seen pitfalls in Indian Public Relations is the lack of a defined job profile
for a PR Manager Even the specific functions of PR units are enumerated clearly by the ,
managements. To avoid such a contingency, APSRTC while reorganising the PR Department,
' clearly indicated its functions in an official communicationassignedby the Vice-Chairman and
the Managing ~irecto;.These were as under:

1) To inform the public about the corporate objectivesand programmes of the Corporation
including the passenger amenities.

2) To highlight the problems of the Corporations such as attacks on the crew, damage to
buses during agitations etc., so as to seek people's co-operation in the successful
operation of its fleet.

3) To install better traffic consciousness among commuters like maintaining queues,

avoiding footboard travel, purchasing correct tickets, keeping small change for ticket so
that the Corporation could provide efficient and comfwtable transportation.

4) To identlfy the adverse criticism regardng operation of buses, behaviour of the bus crew
appearing in the newspapers and or obtained from other sources like written or oral
complaints from opinion leaderslpassengers.

5) To inform the public and the media about accidents as well as relief measures taken up
by the Corporation including the departmental enquiry ordered to know the cause of
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accidents.
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I To arrange training in PR and code of etiquette for the bus crew and other employees.
6)
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7) To launch employee communication programmes, through various in-house
communication methods so as to create a sense of belonging among the employees and
increase their efficiency.

8) To provide to the management, a correct feedback on passenger reactions and their

grievances, especially in the case of adverse press publicity. T o obtain from various
opinion leaders, comments about service. This is to enable the management to adjust its
policies by monitoring people's reactions.

Check Your Progress 2

Note : i) Answer the following questions in the space provided.

I
I ii) Compare your answers with those given at the end of this unit.
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Public Relations
Strategies Following is a list of some PR functions in a transport company. You are required to
complete the following sentences by justifying the need for these functions.
1) Passengers need to be educated on aspects like avoiding footboard travel,
purchasingticketspromptlyetc. in orderto .....;.. ...................................................

2) In case of any accidents, full details should be made known to the public in order
to

3 ) The crew also needs PR training in handling passengers because ........................

4) Passengers' complaints should be attended to promptly in order to ..................

5) Problems of Corporation like attacks on buses should be highlighted so as to

5.9 MULTI-MEDIA APPROACH

The APSRTC adopted a multi-media approach and launched various PR campaigns for
educating its internal and external publics. The theme of the PR programme implemented by
APSRTC was developed on certain basic propositions such as:

1) APSRTC : a People's Corporation;

2) Every citizen is a shareholder in the Corporation;

3) Passenger is the master;
4) Passenger is always right;

5) Passengers comfort is above all else;

6) Passenger's satisfaction is the success of the Corporation;

is
7) Every employee 1s accountable to the passengers.
The media used in conveying PR messages of the Corporation included: newspapers, radio,
television, video, audio-visual, corporate publications, photographs, exhibitions, tableaux,
qoardings, posters, wall painting, bus panels, oral com'munication, passenger-management
i
meets, etc.
Can mere messages of the public relations department bring about changes in the attitudes of
the employees and passengers? FACTA-NON-VERBA the ancient Romans said "Give us
Deeds, not Words only" The colourful brochure, .the most beautiful film, the glittering words
in a speech used in a media release, or an attractive advertisement will achieve very little, if
there is no substantial difference in service to the passengers. It is said in Public Relations " P
stands for performance and "R" stands for recognition. Without performance, there is no PR
and without PR there is no recognition.
Hence, the PR programme of the APSRTC was entirely based on action projects, policies,
programmes and major achievementsof the Corporations. That was the first priority in the PR Case Studies in
campaign. The action-projects of the Corporation included: Public Relations

Construction of modern bus stations, particularly modem bus complexes in Hyderabad;

Vijayawadaand Guntur;
wayside bus shelters;
bus-body buildings units;
central workshops for maintenance of vehicles;
computerisation of bus ticketing;
concession to students, journalists, physically handicapped persons;
replacing the old buses;
introduction of new buses, inter-state buses;
installation of windmills for water supply services;
provision of passenger amenities for water supply s e ~ c e s ;
running express services to remote areas in the state'and so on.
What about employees?
Welfare measures for employees was the second segment included in the PR effort as part of
the internal PR programme. Other measures for employees included house loans, vehicle
loans, medicare through a network of hospitals, training for employees, production incentive
bonus, etc. As a result, good industrial relations prevailed.
The third component of the PR programme was based on the major achievements of the
corporation and its credits at the All-India level. APSRTC became the second largest public
sector transport undertaking in the country, (the first being Maharashtra), it also won the
Petroleum Conservation Research Association award for five consecutive years (from 1982
to 1987), for its fuel efficiency. Its service ranked first in the buntry. The Corporation spent
Rs. 14 crores on passenger amenities; fleet utilisation was highest inthe country at 95.89% and
the fuel efficiency rate was 4.94 Kms per litre m 1988.
The performance of the corporation was integrated with the PR programme communicated'
through the media to the public. The impact it created onthe minds of the people in general and
passengers in particular, reflected on the corporate image of APSRTC. In this case, actions
spoke louder than words!
i
Check Your Progress 3
Note: i) Answer the following question in the space provided below.
ii) Compare your answer with the ones given at the end of the unit.
l ~ the action plans of APSRTC that led to its improved corporateimage.
1) ~ r i e fstate
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5.6 INTERNAL PUBLIC RELATIONS : EMPLOYEE

RELATIONS
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Employees are pre-eminent for any organisation. Unfortunately, in most of the managements,
Public Relations
particularly in the government sector,the task of maintaining good relations with the employees
Strategies
is almost totally ignored. As long as the employees feel unaccountable to the public, and are
in-different, no amount of PR effort or customer- service will yield the desired results. Every
employee in his dealings with external public represents the organisation. PR, therefore,
should start with employees.
The media used for internal PR programme included by the APSRTC :
1) House Journal Prasthanam;
2) PR training;

3) Handbooks for conductors and drivers;

4) Posters for drivers;
5) Corporate publications ;
6) Video Cassettes;
7) Audio Visuals;
8) Stickers;
9) Suggestion schemes;

10) Interaction of Managing Director with employees; and

11) Bulletin Boards.
Earlier, 'Prasthanam' the hosue journal was mostly management-oriented with the conltent
mainly focussing on the views of management and photographs of the top management.
Recently, changes were brought in the formate, contents, layout of the house journal giving
more scope for the activities of the employees and news of the workplace. More scope was
provided for expressing the views of the employees. The entire focus of the journal was made
employee-oriented. The contents of the house journal included:

1) Management news, covering the messages of Chairman, Managing Director, board

decisions, policies and programmes of the Corporation;

2) Editorial and columns aimed at motivating employees for better productivity;

3) Welfare m e a s a s , appreciation of employees' good work, sports, cultural activities;

and

4) The participation of employees in the magazine through their literary writings,

suggestions, letters to the editor column.
Photographs were given due promicence, particularly, photographs of the employees working
in a depot or a workshop. The inside and outside covers also carried photographs of employees
at work. The centrespread of the magazine always gave pictures showing the various facets of
the functioning of a depot. In the issue of November, 1988, the back-cover carried full size
photographs of D. Raja, the man who was commended as the 'best driver' by the Managing
Director.
As a measure to enable the employees to take more interest in writing for the journal, the
management decided to pay the employees who published articles in the journals. As a result,
the participation of employees in the journal increased many fold.
Check Your Progress 4

I Note : i) .Answer the following question in the space provided below. I

I 1) Iden*
ii) Compare your answer with the one given at the end of this unit.
a few methods adopted by the Corporation to make the house journal,
'Prasthanam' employee-oriented.
 Case Studies in
Public Relations

5.7 TRAINING
As we told you earlier in the unit, a new concept was being experimented in public relations by
entrusting PR job to the regular Managers. It was thought that those officials entrusted with PR
work should be trained properly. The PR departmenthad implemented a long-rangePR training
programme by organising training camps for different batches both at its seven Regioilal
Training Schools and at the Transport Academy, Gannavarmnear Vijayawada.
Asst. Traffic managers, Depot Managers, Chief Inspectors and Traffic Inspectors who hadbeen
designated to attend to PR work were given training to theory and practice of PR, passenger
relations, handling of passenger complaints, media relations, communications,etc. They were
also exposed to the functioning of newspapers, All India Radio and Doordarshan. Eminent
editors were invited to interact with the trainees. Lectures on public relations were also
arranged for the benefit of conductors and drivers during their normal training programmes. In
all, about 500 Managers and over 500 Conductors and 500 Drivers, were exposed to PR training
over a period of two years during 1987-1989.

5.7.1 Employees Motivation Poster

The Public Relations Department launched a massive education campaign for motivating
employees on the theme "Sukha Soukya Prayanam Mana Dheyam". 'Comfortable travel is our
objective'; This was based on five golden semicc rules; 1. Safety; 2. Courtesy; 3 . Punctuality;
4. Reliability and 5. Cleanliness. If these five golden s;rvlce attributes were adopted by the
Corporation employees, the passengers would get very comfortable transport service. In this
conlext, a poster and a leaflet were brought out for mass distribution among employees, besides
making use of them in the hosue journal. This created greater awarenessamong the employees
about the theme and became a topic for discussion among them.

5.7.2 Driver's Poster

As a measure to educate the drivers, the Corporation brought out a multi-coloured poster n
Telugu highlighting the role of a driver in providing a comfortable and safe journey to t..;
commuters. It tells the drivers; "safe driving will not only enable them (drivers) to reach home
safely but also the passengers and pedestrians". The illustration on the one side depicts the wife
and children of the driver in a joyfbl mood awaiting his arrival and on the other side the driver
entering his house with smiling face to join the family. These posters were displayed in all the
Depots of the Corporation.
Press releases were also issued along with the posters. Good media coverage was obtained
about the efforts made by the Corporation to educate the drivers on safe travel. This was a rare
experience for the PR department which created confidence among the passengers about the .
sincerity of the management in providing safe travel.

5.7.3 Code for Conductors

A 10-point code was evolved for conductors. A folder with cartoon illustrations indicating
every point was brought out and supplied to each conductor as a pocket handbook. The Code
included: 1. Know your job; 2. Be neat in uniform; 3 . Be courteous; 4. Passengers are our
masters; their satisfaction is our success: 5 . Be helpful; 6. Passenger is always right: 7. Develop
patient listening; 8. Show interest inpassengers' problems; 9. Deposit found articles inthe lost-
 property room at depot; and 10. Develop team spirit with colleagues and lead a happy family
life.

5.8 EXTERNAL PUBLIC RELATIONS-PASSENGER

RELATIONS
'Custonler is the Master'. The organisation and its employees are totally accountable to the
master customer. If the organisation has certain privileges in running the business, the
customer also has certain inherent rights - 'the right to information', the right to know about
the service. With these rights, the customer places an enormous responsibility on the
management: the duty 'to inform' or 'communicate' to the customer. Thus, every organisation
has to devote itself to the subject to customer relations. This was the theme, kept in view while
designing the APSRTC's external PRprograme.
The Commuter relations programme implementedbythePR department in APSRTC was based'
on thc Corporation's services. However, the various media of communication were utilised in
reaching the passengers not o d y to inform what the management was doing for them but also
to educatethem on their responsibilities. After all, passengers too have some responsibilities-
Don't you agree?

5.8.1 Educative Slogans

Education of passengers assumes importance in an external PR programme which seeks their
active co-operation in " . J L I ~.-.-wing of buses. Of course, education depended much on

the service provided by th. -orpn~dtwn.The m&a utilised for external PR included:

1) The bus and bus stations

2) Newspapers

3) A11 Jn&a Radio

4) Doordarshan
5) Printed literature
6) Hoardings
7) Electronic disp .ay
8) Commuters' Meets
9) Audio-Visual Communication;and
10) Direct interaction with passengers.
Thetheme ofthe passenger relationsprogramme was based on "PrayaneekuleMana Yajamanuld'.
'Passengers are our masters'. In tune with this theme, the Corporation had coined six slogans
for educating the passengers. They were:

/l) Follow the 'Q' while boarding; Avoid inconvenience to fellow-passengers;

2) Ticketless travel is an offence; Fine upto Rs. 500;

3) Pay correct change for the fare; Co-operate with the Conductor;

4) Respecting women is our tradition; Allow women to sit in the seats allotted for them;
5) Footboard travel is dangerous;

6) Smoking is prohbited.

1' 5.8.2 Bus as a Medium

The APSRTC bus itself was the major medium of communication betweenthe Corporation and
the passengers. It has been the practice to sell the space inside and outside the bus to private
advertisers for commercial purpose to earn extra revenue. But, it had never been thought that
the same space could be used for educating passengers. Same was the case with the space Case Studies in
available in bus stations. When the PR department had put up proposals that a portion of the Public Relations
space of the bus as well as bus station could be utilised for the purpose of external public
relations, the management readily agreed, inspite of the fad that the Corporation would incur
a considerable revenue loss. After all, the external PR programme was to be entirely a non-
profit venture. Do you see the point? Wasn't that a major breakthrough?
To implement the PR plan, all the educative slogans of approved sizes were cut on a metal
stencil for painting uniformaly on all the buses. A bigger size was used at the bus stations.
Stencils were supplied to all the Depot Managers in the state to get them painted on the inside
and outside of buses at the specified positions. The slogan on the 'Queue' was painted at the
entrance door of the bus so as to catch the attention of every passenger on entry. This campaign
had a great impact on the passengers. The slogans became the topic of discussionboth among
employees and the general public who travelled in APSRTC buses.

5.8.3 Bus Timings

It was the practice of newspapers (till 1987) in Hyderabad to publish only the railways and
airways timings. No attempt was made earlier by APSRTC to get the bus timings published in
newspapers. The PR Department contacted the editors of various newspapers and explained the
advantages of publishing bus timings in the newspapers as this had greater relevancefor about
one crore passengers every day.
A few newspapers came forward to publish the bus timings. Three types of bus timings were
released to the press.

2) Long distance service timings and

3) Services to pilgrim centres.
The bus timings were carried by major newspapers.
Successful strategy! Wasn't it?

5.8.4 Features
Features arc one of the sources through which a PR practitioner can explain the major
achievements of an organisation, or enlarge on a particular achievement or unique contribution
of the organisation. This can be doile either through house journals or newspapers. APSRTC
made use of this format to project some of its unique schemes which were of economic
relevance to the poorer sections of the society. In the process, not only were the activities of
the Corporationhighlighted, its image also improved.Twoinnovative schemes 'A Bus to Every
Village' and 'Rural Cargo Bus', first time in the country, were introduced in 1978 and 1980
respectively. Two features which were circulated to local a e s received wide coverage. The
total editorial space given by various newspapers for the two features-"A Bus Ride to
Progress" and 'Cargo Bus Fills the Gap" came to 3571 columns which mould have cost the
corporation Rs. 3 5,000 in terms of advertising space. This was yet another positivc non-profit
contribution by the PR department which earned the goodwill of the public. Wasn't that an
excellent example of community relations?

5.8.5 Radio and Television

The government media like the All India Radio, Doordarshan and Films Division offer good
public relations opportunities for any government or public sector organisation. The reach of
the print media is limited, linked as it is to literacy. It also generally does not give space for
developmental,promotional programmes of the government. It is in this context, that the public
relationsdepartmentsin pubic sector undertakings, should make the maximum use of government
electronic media to reach their target audience.
In the case of APSRTC, All India Radio and Doordarshan broadcast the educative slogans free
of cost. Some of the important slogans were also broadcast by the All India Radio, Hyderabad,
on its commercial circuit, sometimes, at prime lime immediately, after Telugu regional news
bulletins, and before thc Tclugu feature film; or even during film music programmes, etc, The
Doordarshan, Hyderabad, telecast the educative slogans along with illustrations. Short video
Public Relations
Strategies
cassettes about three minutes duration containing the theme of the slogans were telecast free
of cost. Broadcasting educative slogans was an innovative effort of the PR department. Panel
discussions, interviews, interaction with passengers were also arranged both in All India Radio
and Doordarshan. The Corporation got fair coverage in the news bulletins of both All India
Radio and Doordarshan Regional Stations.

5.8.6 Corporate Publications

APSRTC, as part of its internal and external PR programmes, brought out different types of
publications. Some of the publications brought out for external publics include corporate
profile, annual reports, diaries, calendars, new year greeting cards, project profiles, handbooks,
etc.

Check Your Progress 5

Note: i) Answerthe followingquestionsinthe spaceprovided after each statement.
ii) Compare your answers with the ones given at the end of this unit.
State if the following segments are true or false.

1) Public sector organisations can find example opportunities of PR in the

government-regulated media like AIR and Doordarslran. ( )

2) Editorial features are an excellent way to get publicity free of cost. ( )

3) It is a waste of space to publish bus timings in newspaper as it has no readership.

0 '
4) Advertising painted on the bus panels is not noticed and does not have impact.
( 1
5) passengers too can contributeto making travel comfortableby being responsible.
( )

6) A company runs abus serviceto earn profit and not to satisfy passengers. The two
are not compatible. ( 1

5.9 MEET THE COMMUTERS

Every organisation, be it Airways, Railways or Roadways, is basically interested in four types
of publics: 1. The top management, 2. the employees, 3. The customers, and 4. The community
at large and the opinion leaders. In fact, these groups constitute the strong pillars on which the
organisation rests firmly. A successful organisation is me which provides a common forum for
regular interaction of these four types of people who understand the problems of each other.
This rapport in turn helps in the smooth running of the organisation. APSRTC attempted one
such integrated approach in its communications with the publics inside and outside the
Corporation.
"hied the Commuters" was organised for the first time at the Mehdipatnam Dec t in
Hyderabad city. The General Manager and his top Managers representing the management,
select traffic inspectors, mechanics, cleaners, drivers and coi~ductorsrepresenting the
employees, a cross section of commuters such as government employees, petty traders,
lawyers, doctors, industrial workers, students, women, physically handicapped people etc.,
representing the customers and fourth segment opinion leaders represented by the media:
people's representatives, consumer associations, etc., participated in the meet. Due publicity
was given through all the media about this programme, besides extending personal invitations
to select commuters and their associations, media representatives to take part in this face-to-
face dialogue.
The management and passengersventilated their grievances at the Meet. After listening to their
views, the employees of the Corporation explained their difficulties.
The results of the 'Meet thc Commuters' campaign were appreciated. It enabled each section
of the public to understand the othcrs' problems. The elnployees could understand the
 Case Studies in
grievances of passengers while the passengers could understand the difficulties of the
Public Relations
employees and passengers. At the end of the meet, a spirit of brotherhood and mutual
understanding was visible.

5.10 LET US SUM UP

This unit, the last one in Block V, Course IV, is written with the purpose of giving you a
comprehensive session on all that you learnt so far. It is specially significant as it gives you an
example of applied PR. The case study we take up for scrutiny is that of Andhra Pradesh State
Transport Corporation, a public
- sector undertaking.
In order to give you an idea of the area where PR practices can be applied, we began with a
background of the transport industry and the major issues it has to face. We also identified the
major publics of a road transport Corporation as being its employeespassengers, media and the
government.
We began with a profile of APSRTC and its administrative set-up and examined its broad
corporate objectives all of which justified the need for professional PR approach. APSRTC
revamped its PRsetup, appointed more PROSand also trained regular managers for PRactivity.
The well defined PR function to cater to its various publics was also examined in detail.
With its commendable corporate philosophy, APSRTC adopted a multi-media approach for its
internal and external PR campaigns. Realising that recognition could only be achieved after
good performance, APSRTC embarked on ambitions action-based projects like setting up
modem bus stations, providing passenger amenities, offering concessional fares to special
groups, linking up with remote areas etc. All this created a good impact.
Meanwhde, special training programmes we1e organised for employees including drivers and
conductors to enable them to deal sympathetically with passengers. Besides several welfare
measures taken for them to Increase the feeling of belonging. The house journal 'Prasthanam'
was devoted entirely to employees to which they also contributed. This greatly increased
motivation. The media coverage of all the services of APSRTC had a great impact in boosting
the image of the Corporation. The bus itself was used as a medium to educate passengers on
comfortable travel. Newspapers began publishing bus timings and other feature articles about
APSRTC's performance. Regular passenger meets helped the Corporation and the public to
understand each other's problems leading to mutual goodwill.
Thus we see that Public Relations, whether in a public transport corporation or any other field,
is a continuous process. As long as the organisaion continues to serve the public, the PR
programme should continue to be a part of that organisation. Any break will result in a
communication gap between the institution and its public. Finally, we conclude that it is
, worthwhile for an organisation to invest resources in PR. For besides getting quantifiable
results like increased sales, PR can generate a tremendous amount of goodwill which can stand
on in good stead for a long time.

5.11 SUGGESTEDREADING
1) 'Public Relations, Principles, Cases and Problems; H.Frazier Moore; F r d B.;
Kalupa Surjeet Publications; 1985.

2) Effective Public Relations; Scott M Cutlip, Allen H; Centre Prentice Hall; 5th
edition; 1978.

5.12 CHECK YOUR PROGRESS: MOD3L ANWSERS

Check Your Progress 1

1) Flight delays due to mechnical trouble or weather conditions, bomb threats,

hijacking, lightning strickes by crew or staff, accidents, political crisis in the area
of operation etc.
Public Relations
Strategies 2) Investors, employees,customers (for cargo),passengers. govcmment, community
media, competitors etc.
Check Your Progress 2

1 ) making travel comfortable and the service more efficient.

2) minimize confusion, anxiety or panic.
3 ) they can make or mar the image of Corporation.

4) avoid adverse publicity and adjust one's policies accqrdingly.

5) make people aware and seek their cooperation.

Check Your Progress 3
Recognition came out of performance which resulted from initial choice of appropriate
themes for action.
For passengers: Construction of modern bus stations, computerised ticketing,
introduction of new buses to remote areas, way side bus shelters, providing passenger
amenities at various stations, concessionsto various groups of passengers, workshops
to maintain vehicles in order.
For employees : Welfare measures like houseloan, medicare incentive, b o ~ ~ etc.
us

Discharging social responsibility by conserving fuel, connecting remote areas with

bus links etc.
Winning awards for fuel efficiency and highlighting all the achievements through
media.
Check Your Progress 4
Giving news of workplace and employees activities
Views of employees
Welfare measure for employees
Photographs of employees at work
Publishing contributions from employees, suggestions
Letters to the editor etc.
Paying crnployees for their contributions.
Check Your Progress 5
1. True 2. True 3. False 4. False 5. True 6. False