Bidders ready for info boards,but no buses to display them

The Pune Mahanagar Parivahan Mahamandal Ltd is caught in a tricky situation following a delay in purchase of 650 buses under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission.

The Pune Mahanagar Parivahan Mahamandal Ltd (PMPML) is caught in a tricky situation following a delay in purchase of 650 buses under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM). The utility is sitting on a proposal for digital display boards for the buses even three months after 11 companies have shown interest in supplying and installing the same as it is yet to get the buses.

The utility administration had floated a tender for bids from private players for the digital information boards. However,its officials said there was no point in pushing the proposal ahead as the buses are yet to arrive. Only 81 buses of the sanctioned 650 have arrived so far.

The installation of digital information boards comes under the Intelligent Traffic System (ITS),that the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) has been working on. The total cost of this particular project is Rs 50 crore. Under this system,each of the 650 buses would sport four digital boards one each in the front,side,rear and inside the bus. The last would inform passengers about the approaching bus stops, a senior official said.

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Under this project,the buses will also have a GPS navigation system and multiplex wiring to detect any damage in the vehicles. All these technical aspects have to be provided by a single company. We had invited expression of interest from companies and so far 11 have come forward. This was done almost three months ago. However,we are unable to forward the file to the Pune Municipal Corporation as well as Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation. The proposal has been kept on hold.

Vivek Velankar,president of PMP Pravasi Manch,said,Only a few of the 650 buses to be procured under JNNURM have arrived so far,though the deadline was six months from March.

He said paucity of funds was one of the major reasons behind the delay.

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