Pune: PMPML’s ‘popular’ daily passes to continue
The sale has jumped from 3,500 daily passes per day in August 2016 to current sale of 32,000 to 35,000 passes per day.
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The sale of daily passes has jumped from 3,500 in August last year to 35,000 at present. (Source: File)
THE Rs 50 daily pass scheme of the Pune Mahanagar Parivahan Mahamandal Limited (PMPML) has proved “hugely popular” among the commuters as the sale of daily pass has seen a multifolds increase since the scheme was instituted on experimental basis in August 2016. The sale has jumped from 3,500 daily passes per day in August 2016 to current sale of 32,000 to 35,000 passes per day. While the extension given to the scheme is about to end on February 28, the PMPML officials said the scheme will continue until the next board of directors’ meeting of the transport body, where the fate of the scheme will be decided. The date for the meeting has not been decided yet.
Until then the commuters can enjoy travelling in the buses anywhere in the PMC and the PCMC jurisdictions only for Rs 50 a day.
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Before the scheme commenced on August 14 2016, the daily passes was sold at Rs 70 a day to only those who held a valid PMPML I-card. Through the scheme, the transport body not only brought down the price of the pass to Rs 50, but also did away with the necessity of having a PMPML I-card. Later, when it was noticed that a sizeable number of passengers were cheating by selling the daily passes to others for smaller amount after they had finished their day’s travel, PMPML introduced the system of printing the I-card number on the pass.
“It certainly turned out to be a popular idea. Since August 2016, we have sold over 50 lakh passes. The sales are only improving with time,” said Anant Waghmare, General Manager (Operations), PMPML.
While the scheme has fared well with commuters as well as the transport activists, the PMPML officials, however, rue that it has caused a daily loss of about Rs 3-4 lakh to the transport body as passengers who earlier used to spend Rs 70-80 per day on PMPML now save Rs 20-30 by buying the daily pass.
“This means that we lose Rs 3-4 lakh per day as most of the people who buy the daily passes are those who used to earlier buy tickets. Also, sadly although the scheme became popular, we are yet to lure people who prefer personal vehicle over public transport into the fold. Once we start getting new passengers and average passenger count increased, the scheme will become more profitable,” said Waghmare.
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