Latest news with #PuneMahanagarParivahanMahamandalLtd
Indian Express
3 days ago
- Business
- Indian Express
Commuters raise concerns after hike in PMPML bus services
The recent fare hike by the Pune Mahanagar Parivahan Mahamandal Ltd (PMPML) has sparked widespread concern among daily commuters. Minimum fares for bus rides have doubled from Rs.5 to Rs.10, while the price of a daily bus pass has jumped from Rs 40 to Rs 70. The cost of a monthly pass has also surged from Rs 900 to Rs 1,500. For many, this hike has come as a shock. Vrajeysh Rokade, a 20-year-old student at DES Pune University and a daily commuter, said, 'As a student, the fare hike is quite dramatic for me. I only get a limited monthly allowance, since I am a student of films, I have to go to different parts of the city for my recordings, so this sudden increase is definitely going to affect me. Even the services aren't good. The seats are broken, and buses are so overcrowded that it's hard to even stand.' Eighteen-year-old Arya Deshmukh, a student at Modern College of Arts, Science and Commerce, echoed similar concerns. 'I stay in Chinchwad, and PMPML used to be an affordable and convenient option for long-distance travel with a daily pass. But now, it's becoming expensive for students like me,' she said. Others, like Sara Bhat from Fergusson College, expressed concern not just for themselves but for the economically disadvantaged. 'I'm privileged enough that a hike of Rs 5–10 won't affect me much. But my house help travels from Katraj to Navi Peth every day. She doesn't have the same monetary privilege. It's people like her who will be hit the hardest,' she said. An English professor who uses PMPML daily questioned the timing of the fare revision. 'Buses are often late, overcrowded, or don't show up at all. While we understand that PMPML needs funds to operate, fare hikes should follow visible service improvements. Public transport is a lifeline for many. We hope authorities act to make it more affordable and commuter-friendly,' they said. Vikrant Kadam, a hardware engineer, expressed disappointment, saying 'I travel across the entire city in a PMPML bus daily. This rise in the prices has really pinched the pockets of me and other people, especially from the lower middle class. Even after the hike, I haven't seen any betterment in the services. The buses are still late. And people still have no place to sit in the bus. I feel that it is really unfair to us passengers who travel long distances daily with a tight budget.' A Public Relations Officer from PMPML stated, 'The fare hike is a result of inflation and the rising costs of CNG, petrol, and diesel. This is the first significant price hike in 12 years. However, fare concessions for senior citizens, differently abled individuals, and school students remain unchanged.'
Hindustan Times
14-05-2025
- Hindustan Times
Man crushed to death while trying to board PMPML bus in Hadapsar
A 56-year-old man tragically lost his life after being crushed under a Pune Mahanagar Parivahan Mahamandal Ltd (PMPML) bus while attempting to board it in the Hadapsar area, said officials on Tuesday. The deceased has been identified as Prakash Rambhau Gaikwad, 56, a resident of Nalvandi in Beed. The incident was reported on April 30, and he died on May 1 during medical treatment. After the completion of the last rituals, on Monday, his son, Babasaheb Gaikwad, filed a police complaint against the bus driver at Hadapsar police station. According to preliminary information, Gaikwad landed in Pune from Beed and was going to his relatives and was trying to catch an Aundh bus from Hadapsar. He reportedly lost his balance and fell under the rear wheels. Altaf Sheikh, police sub-inspector at Hadapsar police station, said, 'He might have boarded in the wrong bus as a result of while deboarding the bus he accidentally fell and came under wheels of the bus.'' According to Sheikh, as per the police complaint filed by the relatives of the deceased, they have booked the bus driver, Navnath Kamble. A case has been filed against the PMPML bus driver under sections 281,106 BNS and sections 184/177 of the Motor Vehicle Act.
Indian Express
27-04-2025
- Politics
- Indian Express
Unfortunately India thought that urbanisation was a sin: Maharashtra CM Fadnavis
Mahrashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Sunday said since there had been a principle that 'India lives in villages', urbanisation was considered a sin in the country. Fadnavis was speaking at an event called Pune Urban Dialogue at Yashwantrao Chavan Academy Of Development Administration. 'If we see the history of the world, while countries or economies went from developing to developed, the route was only urbanisation. There is no developed economy that has been able to stop urbanisation. Unfortunately in our country we always thought that urbanisation is a sin, because we had a principle that India lives in villages. Which was true as well, India did stay in its villages. But we got stuck in the resolution that India will always live in its villages,' said Fadnavis. Fadvanis said that as urbanisation that comes with development was considered a sin, India did not have any facility to manage this urbanisation. 'Today we see that the cities of our country have become squalid. The reason is that when this urbanisation was happening, people came towards cities for education, medical reasons, pursuing opportunities, jobs and entertainment. In such a situation we didn't think about creating housing, and slums are created, encroachments are created,' he said. It was easiest to encroach around rivers and nallahs, said Fadnavis, adding that the creation of huge cities meant that garbage, drinking water, and liquid waste bacome a serious problem. 'And suddenly we realise that the city has become unmanageable and unsustainable. They have not remained liveable,' he said. 'Fifty per cent of Maharashtra's population lives in 500 cities and the other 50% lives in 40,000 villages. If we can change the face of even these 500 cities, we can provide a great life to half of our population. Therefore it is necessary to have this sort of a discussion,' he said. 'Maharashtra saw unprecedented urbanisation since the 1980s, but we realised that an urban challenge has appeared and urbanisation is inevitable in our country only at the end of the 1990s. Only two or three cities have been created as greenfields and the other cities have to be retrofitted instead of managing the urbanisation, which is the most difficult,' he said. The Chief Minister also claimed that the government was taking this issue seriously now. As an example, he talked about an upcoming app in Mumbai, where a traveller will be shown a comprehensive route plan from the person's location to their destination, which would include local trains, BEST buses, metros, and water taxis. He said, the commuter will not have to travel more than 200-300 metres to reach any one of these transport forms. Fadnavis said the Pune Mahanagar Parivahan Mahamandal Ltd (PMPML) was 'running very well' in Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad, and would be integrated with the Pune Metro. Earlier this month, The Indian Express had highlighted how the bus service needed an additional 2,000-4,000 buses on top of the current fleet of 1,900 buses. However, officials could not give a timeline for a substantial increase in the fleet number, which is expected to remain around the 2,000 buses-mark in 2025.
