Latest news with #PuneMahanagarParivahanMahamandalLimited
Indian Express
3 hours ago
- Business
- Indian Express
Despite hike in PMPML bus fares, commuters see no improvement in services
On June 1, the Pune Mahanagar Parivahan Mahamandal Limited (PMPML) decided to increase its fares. This, the transport body said was necessary in the face of increased cost of operations and to help it offer better services. But passengers have slammed this increase, which they said was uncalled for. Software engineering Amol Deshanpde is a regular user of the transport body and used to buy a daily pass priced at Rs 50. 'My office is in Baner and I used to take the bus from Akurdi station till Baner. However, the last mile connectivity was always an issue – thus I had to take an autorickshaw from the bus stand till I reach office. The press statement said this was done to improve services – but from personal experience I feel this would be far from being achieved,' he said. Every day, Shirish Mohite travels from Bhosari to MaNaPa (Pune Municipal Corporation) to reach his office in Deccan. Mohite, who works as an office assistant in a private office said the present fare hike is a bit too steep for comfort. 'My monthly pass costed me Rs 900 now its Rs 1,500. The buses on my route are really not first class – the seats rattle and the windows do not close. If I get the AC bus its fine- else it's a pain,' he said. Mohite says the rise in monthly fare has made him uncomfortable- but with no other options he has to make do with it. Suraj Raut, an HR professional, travels from Jamabhulwadi to Lohegaon and used to buy a daily pass of Rs 40 which has now gone up to Rs 70. 'I work for 26 days in a month, so my cost used to come to Rs 1,040, which has now increased to Rs 1,820,' he said. Raut like others have a heap of complaints against the transport body – from unclean buses to the ACs in air conditioned buses not working. 'Imagine a full bus with AC not working – it is suffocating,' he said. Raut has complaints about the frequency of buses from Lohegaon also. 'At times there is no bus for two hours – will the frequency increase after the rise in fares?' he asked. When it come the transport body, many commuters have complaints like Raut. Deshpande said PMMPL is supposed to be a feed service for the metro, but has failed. 'There is a metro every 10 minutes while the feeder service buses are not there for hours together. This completely defeats the definition of a feeder service,' he said. Deshpande who is a member of the PMP Pravasi Manch said they have asked for shorted fare hikes. 'If some one travels for just 5 km they have to pay Rs 20 – which is a steep rise,' he said. Deshpande called for robustness in the management of the transport body. Frequent break downs are also a concern, which sees many people stranded in the middle of the road. As per officials PMPML buses see breakdowns in the range of 300-600 per month. According to officials , most of these breakdowns were due to engine issues, while some were due to tyre issues. Currently PMPML operates 1,916 buses, including owned and hired buses. A recent study by the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy highlighted that Pune had only half the buses it needs, with the 4,500 buses required. Pune District Planning Committee's Comprehensive Mobility Plan (CMP) also said that the city requires over 6000 buses. On top of this, between 300-500 buses are off road on average every day. PMPML's fleet has remained constant since the last few years. In April 2022 the fleet number stood at 1959, in February 2023 at 2083, in February 2024 at 2009, and in February 2025 at 1916. To be fair the number of the buses is not the only thing that has remained constant. This was the first fare hike made by the transport body after 14 years. The problem is that the hike has not been bin proportion to increased efficiency or service. A press statement issued by PMPML post the hike said on day 1 of the hike they saw a revenue increase of Rs 55 lakh. Deepa Munde Mudhol, CMD of the transport body, said fares were hiked after a long time. Asked if this would affect passenger numbers, she said ' As of now commuters have not decreased. The statistics of the number of passengers in June and July will be analysed. Only one week has passed. No effect on passengers figures as of now.' Partha Sarathi Biwas is an Assistant Editor with The Indian Express with 10+ years of experience in reporting on Agriculture, Commodities and Developmental issues. He has been with The Indian Express since 2011 and earlier worked with DNA. Partha's report about Farmers Producer Companies (FPC) as well long pieces on various agricultural issues have been cited by various academic publications including those published by the Government of India. He is often invited as a visiting faculty to various schools of journalism to talk about development journalism and rural reporting. In his spare time Partha trains for marathons and has participated in multiple marathons and half marathons. ... Read More Soham is a Correspondent with the Indian Express in Pune. A journalism graduate, he was a fact-checker before joining the Express. Soham currently covers education and is also interested in civic issues, health, human rights, and politics. ... Read More
Indian Express
29-05-2025
- Indian Express
For passenger safety, Police patrolling urged along PMPML bus routes
By Siddhi Patil In response to growing concerns over passenger safety, the Pune Mahanagar Parivahan Mahamandal Limited (PMPML) has formally requested the Pune City Police to initiate regular patrolling across major bus stations and heavily crowded routes in Pune, Pimpri-Chinchwad, and the PMRDA region. PMPML, which operates the city's public transport services, currently runs around 20,112 bus trips daily on 381 routes, catering to nearly 10 to 11 lakh commuters. Despite efforts to provide efficient, affordable, and secure transport, the organisation has been receiving numerous complaints from passengers, especially women and students, about security issues during travel. According to PMPML, passengers increasingly face theft of wallets and valuables, eve-teasing, and vandalisation of BRT stations with obscene content. These incidents, often taking place during daily operations, have led to a growing sense of insecurity among women, school children, and college students. To tackle these challenges, PMPML has appealed to the Commissioner of Police, Pune City, to deploy police personnel for regular patrolling during peak hours at key bus stands and along high-footfall routes. The following major bus stations have been flagged as requiring immediate security presence: Swargate Main Bus Station, Deccan Stand, Katraj Main Station, Market Yard, Pune Station, Hadapsar Depot, Wagholi Bus Stand, Nigdi Pradhikaran, Pimpri Ambedkar Chowk, Chinchwad, Bhosari, and several others across Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad. PMPML has listed 28 crowded bus routes where policing is essential. These include: – Swargate to Shivajinagar (Route 2) – Swargate to Pune Station (Route 5) – Katraj to Alandi (Route 29) – Hadapsar to Katraj via Mhatrawadi (Route 188) – Nigdi to PMC (Route 123) – Wagholi to Warje Malwadi (Route 98) – Shewalewadi to Katraj (Route 301) And many more extending from Bhekarainagar to NDA, and Katraj to Bhosari, Chinchwadgaon, and Kharadi These routes have been marked based on passenger volume and frequency of reported issues. The directive for enhanced security measures comes directly from the Chairman and Managing Director of PMPML, who has emphasized the need for visible and active police presence to deter criminal and anti-social behaviour, and restore a sense of safety among daily commuters.
Time of India
18-05-2025
- Time of India
PMPML buses to have AI-enabled cams by July
Pune: The Pune Mahanagar Parivahan Mahamandal Limited (PMPML) has planned to install artificial intelligence (AI) enabled CCTV cameras in all its buses, senior officials told TOI. With this step, PMPML becomes one among the first public transport bodies in the country to have AI cameras on its fleet. "A study to check the feasibility about the project was on and the results have been positive. Now we will float tenders. Within a month, we expect all the buses to have four such cameras each. The buses will include PMPML-owned and the ones operated by the private contractors," Nitin Narvekar, the joint managing director with the transport body, told TOI. The official said the purpose of installing these cameras was to ensure safety and to enhance the services. "One of the cameras will be placed in the driver's cabin and will focus mainly on the driver, his activities and his way of driving. There are complaints off and on about the casual attitude of drivers when on the job. The camera will record the same and relay pictures and videos to us at the control room," Narvekar said. Two other cameras will come up above the BRT doors of the buses on either side while the last camera will be at the back of the bus. "The AI cameras will do a head count of passengers at every stage during the trip. By this, we can calculate the total earning from that trip and find out if the numbers are matching or not. There have been instances of ticketless passengers in the bus and because of which the conductor cannot keep a tab always," the official pointed out. "Presently we have a rough idea on the number of females and males each bus carries. The ratio is 60:40 (males vs females). However, with these cameras, the PMPML would know the exact ratio on the routes. It would help us plan better, especially where the female passengers are high," the official added further. Commuters said basics needed to be catered to first. "I have no problem with the cameras, but when will the PMPML first control the breakdowns and ensure that buses ply on the right time? For commuters, these two issues are the most important," Siddharth Walkar, a Shivaji Road resident and frequent commuter said. FOR ROBUST SAFETY WHILE TRAVEL The PMPML plans to deploy artificial intelligence-enabled cameras on all the buses under it Each bus will have 4 such cameras to ensure secure travel experience The cameras will record the driver's behavior, any misbehave ticketless passengers and count the passengers It will help the transport utility in matching daily earning, route optimization and planning A study to check the feasibility about the project was on and the results have been positive. Now we will float tenders. Within a month, we expect all the buses to have four such cameras each. The buses will include PMPML-owned and the ones operated by the private contractors Nitin Narvekar | joint managing director of PMPML
Hindustan Times
14-05-2025
- Business
- Hindustan Times
PMPML revises fare structure, introduces 11-stage system
In a major restructuring of its fare system, Pune Mahanagar Parivahan Mahamandal Limited (PMPML) has revised its ticket pricing, aligning it with kilometre-based stages to simplify operations, fare calculation, and integration with e-ticketing and mobility card systems. The decision was approved by PMPML's board of directors on Tuesday, in line with a directive from the Maharashtra government and will be implemented from Wednesday. Under the new structure, there will now be 11 fare stages — six stages for distances from 1 to 30 km (in 5 km intervals), and five stages from 30 to 80 km (in 10 km intervals). This replaces the earlier 40-stage system based on 2 km intervals. PMPML operates city and regional bus services across Pune, Pimpri-Chinchwad, and the Pune Metropolitan Region Development Authority (PMRDA) areas. The last fare revision was implemented in 2014, based on a state government directive issued in 2005. 'The new fare structure will simplify integration with Pune Metro, ensure accurate fare calculations, and align with e-ticketing and the National Common Mobility Card system,' said Deepak Mudhol, chairman and managing director of PMPML. 'It also aims to bring clarity and fairness for commuters while improving operational efficiency,' he said. Changes to passes The fare revision will also lead to modifications in daily and monthly passes. The existing daily pass ( ₹40) and monthly pass ( ₹900), valid within the limits of Pune or Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporations, will be discontinued. A unified daily pass for both cities will now cost ₹70, and the monthly pass will be priced at ₹1,500. The daily pass for the PMRDA area has been reduced from ₹120 to ₹115. Passes for students, senior citizens, and differently abled commuters remain unchanged. 'The new fare slabs are in line with recent revisions by transport bodies such as MSRTC, BEST (Mumbai), and Nagpur City Bus,' Mudhol added. Transport body to add new buses to fleet To improve its fleet, PMPML will soon receive 500 new CNG buses, funded by a ₹230 crore provision from the PMRDA. An additional 500 CNG buses will be procured through a self-ownership model, based on proportional ownership between the Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad civic bodies. To curb rising salary expenditure, the PMPML board has also approved hiring certain categories of staff on a contractual basis. All changes are expected to be rolled out in the coming months.
