Two days of heavy rain lead to breakdown of 150 PMPML buses
Pune: In the last two days, 150 PMPML buses broke down causing inconvenience and hassling commuters in what was the second-highest number of daily bus breakdowns since July, last year, said officials of the transport utility.
"There were 61 breakdowns on May 19 and 89 on May 20. However, it is less compared to breakdowns on July 24 and 25, last year. The reasons are rain and its after-effects," public relations officer of the transport body Kishore Chauhan told TOI.
"I was travelling in a bus from Pune Municipal Corporation building towards the Raja Bahadur Mills Road around 6pm. The bus stopped suddenly and the driver said it wouldn't go further because a tyre had a puncture.
All passengers struggled till another PMPML bus arrived. Many who got off were drenched while they looked for other means of transport," said Parag Seere, a daily commuter.
On Wednesday morning,
PMPML CMD Deepa Mudhol Munde
was in a PMPML bus which broke down at Pulgate. Munde was travelling from Shevalwadi to Kothrud on a new CNG bus belonging to a private contractor in a bid to interact with passengers. She had to switch to her car.
Meanwhile, in the two days of July, last year, PMPML had recorded 233 breakdowns.
On July 24, the number stood at 105 and 128 on July 25. On any regular day, daily breakdowns are between 48 and 50, officials said.
"On Tuesday, we tried to control the breakdowns, but it was raining very heavily. Water entered the electrical circuits of many buses, while others faced the problem of punctured tyres. Vehicles operated by private contractors witnessed far more faults than those owned by PMPML. Only 19 PMPML-owned buses suffered breakdowns on May 20 and 17 on May 19. Rental buses, including e-buses, were stuck in major traffic jams on practically all roads in the evenings.
We are talking to contractors and directing them to do all maintenance required for buses to operate without problems," a senior PMPML official said.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Time of India
12 hours ago
- Time of India
Billion-dollar battery plant pauses construction amid electric vehicle and tariff uncertainty
A Japanese company has halted construction on a $1.6 billion factory in South Carolina to help make batteries for electric BMWs, citing "policy and market uncertainty." While Automotive Energy Supply Corp. didn't specify what those problems are, South Carolina's Republican governor said the company is dealing with the potential loss of federal tax breaks for electric vehicle buyers and incentives for EV businesses as well as tariff uncertainties from President Donald Trump's administration. "What we're doing is urging caution - let things play out because all of the these changes are taking place," Gov. Henry McMaster said. AESC announced the suspension in construction of its plant in Florence on Thursday, "Due to policy and market uncertainty, we are pausing construction at our South Carolina facility at this time," the company's statement said. AESC promised to restart construction, although it didn't say when, and vowed to meet its commitment to hire 1,600 workers and invest $1.6 billion. The company said it has already invested $1 billion in the Florence plant. The battery maker based in Japan also has facilities in China, the United Kingdom, France, Spain and Germany. In the U.S., AESC has a plant in Tennessee and is building one in Kentucky. The statement didn't mention any changes with other plants. The South Carolina plant is supposed to sell battery cells to BMW, which is building its own battery assembly site near its giant auto plant in Greer. BMW said the construction pause by AESC doesn't change its plans to open its plant in 2026. AESC has already rolled back its South Carolina plans. They announced a second factory on the Florence site, but then said earlier this year that their first plant should be able to handle BMW's demand. That prompted South Carolina officials to withdraw $111 million in help they planned to provide. The company is still getting $135 million in grants from the South Carolina Department of Commerce and $121 million in bonds and the agency said a construction pause won't prompt them to claw back that offer. South Carolina is investing heavily in electric vehicles. Volkswagen-owned Scout Motors plans to invest $2 billion and hire 4,000 people for a plant to build its new electric SUVs scheduled to open in 2027. The state has for decades made big bets on foreign manufacturers like BMW, Michelin and Samsung that have paid off with an economic boom this century, but there is uneasiness that Trump's flirtation with high tariffs might stagger or even ruin those important partnerships. McMaster told people to relax as state and business leaders are talking to Trump's administration and things will work out. "I think the goal of the president and the administration is to have robust economic growth and prosperity and there is no doubt there has to be changes made in our international trade posture and President Trump is addressing that," McMaster told reporters Thursday.
Hindustan Times
14 hours ago
- Hindustan Times
Russian official takes jibe at US after Trump-Musk spat: ‘Why can't we all just get along?'
In the aftermath of US President Donald Trump and Tesla CEO Elon Musk's spat, a close aide of Russian President Vladimir Putin, Kirill Dmitriev and took a dig at the public falling out. Dmietriev took to X to use the phrase 'Why can't we all just get along?', which was used by Rodney King after he was beaten by LA police officers during riots in the US in 1991. He further said, 'In 2024, Elon Musk bet his entire $300B+ fortune on supporting Trump and helping save the US. Today, Tesla crashed 14%. $150B gone. $30B wiped from Musk's net worth. No hedge. No fear. Just conviction. Tomorrow?' Also Read: Donald Trump plans to 'get rid' of his red Tesla' after feud with Elon Musk He also asked the Musk-owned platform's AI chatbot Grok what needed to happen for Trump and the billionaire entrepreneur to reconcile. Grok suggested private talks and public apologies for personal attacks. 'However, their escalating conflict and public barbs suggest reconciliation is unlikely soon.' Dmitry Rogozin, former head of Russia's space agency, Roscosmos, on Thursday had invited Musk to flee the United States and join in the war on Russia's side. Also Read: Trump-Musk fallout: How it will impact the president and the tycoon 'Elon @elonmusk, don't be upset! You are respected in Russia. If you encounter insurmountable problems in the US, come to us and become one of us — a 'Bars-Sarmat' fighter,' he wrote on X. He added, 'Here you will find reliable comrades and complete freedom of technical creativity.' The offer was echoed by the first deputy chairman of the international affairs committee of the lower house of parliament, Dmitry Novikov, who told the Tass state news agency, as quoted by The Washington Post, that Russia could offer asylum to Musk 'if he needs it.' On Thursday, during a press briefing in the Oval Office, Donald Trump said that he was "very disappointed" after his former aide and top donor, Elon Musk, criticised his "big, beautiful" spending bill before Congress. Trump also suggested the Musk missed being in the White House and had 'Trump derangement syndrome", reported AP. Later, Musk hit back at Trump on X, claiming that the US President was mentioned in government documents on disgraced financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Trump escalated the fight, suggesting that Musk's multibillion-dollar government contracts, including those used for launching rockets and the Starlink satellite service, should be terminated to save money for the federal government.
Time of India
19 hours ago
- Time of India
MSRDC wants to make Mum-Pune E-way 10-lane superhighway
Pune: MSRDC wants to transform the Mumbai-Pune Expressway into a 10-lane superhighway to tide over traffic snarls and cater to the future demands of vehicular movement along the corridor, one of the busiest in the country. "This is an upgrade from our earlier proposal to make the expressway an eight-lane facility. The latest upgrade will cost around Rs1,420 crore. The DPR is being finalised and will be submitted to govt for approval," Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) vice-chairman and managing director Anilkumar Gaikwad told TOI on Friday. Inaugurated in 2002, the expressway is a 94.6-km stretch connecting the bustling metropolis of Mumbai to Pune, Maharashtra's industrial and educational hub. It currently carries an estimated 65,000 vehicles daily during weekdays. The number increases to over 100,000 during weekends. With traffic volume increasing by approximately 5-6% on a year-on-year basis, the MSRDC's proposed expansion is seen as a long-term solution to the congestion. The latest project involves widening of the current infrastructure. While the construction cost is expected to be around Rs8,440 crore, the overall average cost of the project will be Rs 14,260 crore. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like เทรด Bitcoin และ Ethereum - ไม่ต้องใช้กระเป๋าเงิน! IC Markets เริ่มต้นตอนนี้ Undo "Instead of seeking funds from govt, we will bank on toll collection," Gaikwad said. The financing model — whether Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) or annuity — is yet to be decided. The current toll collection for the Pune-Mumbai Expressway is valid till 2045. MSRDC would seek an extension if the expressway widening gets approval to make the project self-sustaining. At present, the journey between Mumbai and Pune takes about two hours under normal conditions. However, weekend rush hours and holiday traffic can stretch that drive by an additional hour. According to MSRDC, the proposed expansion could virtually eliminate this extended travel time, offering smoother rides even during peak periods. If approved and executed as envisioned, the expansion could become one of India's most ambitious road infrastructure upgrades — a critical step toward matching the country's rapid growth in vehicle ownership with high-capacity transit corridors, an MSRDC official said. MLA Mahesh Landge has in a social media post recently said the expansion would ensure necessary respite from traffic congestion on the e-way. "This is a long-awaited demand. The expansion is needed considering the heavy traffic along the e-way," he told TOI. People frequently travelling on the e-way are of the view that the state govt should not delay in the expansion work and carry out the project in phases to ensure that there was no traffic congestion. "Frequent traffic snarls are becoming an impediment for travellers. The expansion proposal should be immediately cleared and work should commence," said Manisha Khandekar, a frequent traveller. The expressway — which begins at Kalamboli in Navi Mumbai and ends at Kiwale near Pune — is India's first access-controlled express highway. While work on the 13-km "missing link" project is on, which will facilitate 10 lanes in the Khandala Ghat section, the proposed expansion would cover the remaining 67km of the route. According to MSRDC, land acquisition challenges were expected to be minimal. "MSRDC already holds land adjacent to most parts of the existing expressway. Only limited additional land near tunnels will be needed. These land parcels are near the tunnel zones," said an official involved with the project. Get the latest lifestyle updates on Times of India, along with Eid wishes , messages , and quotes !
