The Pune Mahanagar Parivahan Mahamandal Limited (PMPML) has launched an aggressive campaign in Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad to attract more passengers to the public utility. While numerous hoardings urging local residents to choose PMPML buses over private vehicles have cropped up across the twin cities, the transport body is also planning to put up advertisements on local FM radio stations to woo passengers. In recent weeks, the PMPML has stepped up efforts to increase revenue generation by taking steps such as marking a ‘Bus Day’ every month, trying to push sale of passes and bring down cancellations. A recent audit report of the body had revealed that all 428 routes on which its buses operate were incurring losses. Operational expenditure on each route exceeded the revenues generated, stated the report. “We are trying to increase revenue by attracting more passengers. We have launched an awareness campaign which will include banners, hoardings and radio advertisements. We are also going to schools and colleges to persuade students to use PMPML buses for their commute. Apart from this, we will hold a ‘Bus Day’ every month, when we stress on efficiency and improved quality of service for passengers,” said Anant Waghmare, traffic manager of PMPML. He pointed out that PMPML’s daily revenue falls sharply on weekends. “From Monday to Friday, we see an average daily revenue of Rs 1.5 to Rs 1.7 crore. On Saturday and Sunday, the revenue drops to Rs 1.2 to Rs 1.3 crore per day, dipping by Rs 30 to 40 lakh. Further, the state government’s decision to implement a five-day work week will result in further reduction of revenue due to fall in ridership. In total, we may end up losing almost Rs 15 crore as government offices will be shut on all Saturdays,” said Waghmare.
