Merc buses generated Rs 4 lakh in trial run

The trial run of two Mercedes Benz buses on Pune roads earned the Pune Mahanagar Parivahan Mahamandal Limited (PMPML)Rs 4 lakh. As many as 1100 passengers travelled everyday on the two buses in August. “The Mercedes Benz company had approached us and handed over two buses for passenger operations. Accordingly,two buses were run on the route between Katraj and Nigdi for a complete month. It was just on a trial basis as the company wanted to judge passengers’ reaction to the buses. The company had also provided questionaires to the passengers to get feedback in a written format,” PMPML spokesperson Deepak Pardeshi said.

“The company is willing to run these buses in other cities too but selected Pune for their pilot project,” he said. The buses were AC semi low-floor. “Initially the response to these buses was not great,over time people got attracted. The average daily earning of the two buses was Rs 13,000,” Pardeshi said.