Passholders of PMPML drop by over 66,000
Activists attribute decline to exorbitant hike in rates of bus travel passes.
2 min read
Pune Mahanagar Parivahan Mahamandal Limited (PMPML) has witnessed a sharp drop of 66,039 passholders in 14 months. Civic activists have attributed the decline to exorbitant hike in the rates of travel passes,especially for senior citizens.
An RTI query by commuters group PMP Pravasi Manch has revealed that the number of PMPML bus passholders dropped from 2,97,266 in January last year to 2,31,227 in March this year.
PMPMLs policy should be to encourage passholders. While it is expected that the rates of the passes should be kept unchanged to boost the number of passholders,the PMPML authorities are increasing it gradually, said Jugal Rathi of PMP Pravasi Manch.
Listing out the benefits of having more passholders,he said,Passholders make it possible for PMPML to receive its money in advance. These are loyal commuters who assure the transport utility of better occupancy of buses. Passholders also reduce the possible risk of financial irregularities involved in e-ticketing. These benefits eventually translate into profits for PMPML.
Meanwhile,the ridership per bus a day has also come down to 767 in March this year from 905 in January last year,
PMP Pravasi Manch also highlighted that peak occupancy hours of PMPML buses report around 15 per cent ticketless travel. This percentage could be brought down by encouraging people to opt for passes.
PMP Pravasi Manch along with other social groups have written to PMPML authorities requesting them to reduce the rates of passes. The transport utility authorities said the demand would be discussed in forthcoming meeting of the board of directors.
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