Pune: Special AC bus service from Friday with Rs 10 fare

The city’s public bus transport service, PMPML, will charge Rs 10 for a ticket which will be valid for the entire day.

Many of these CNG buses are smaller in size giving an easier travel experience for commuters especially during traffic hours. (Express Photo: Ashish Kale)

Starting this Friday, the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) will begin its special air conditioned bus service running through some of the most congested parts of Pune central.

The civic body has bought 50 mini buses, having a seating capacity of 24 each and all powered by CNG, to run on nine routes, including Swargate to Pune Station, Swargate to Shivajinagar and Deccan Gymkhana to Poolgate.

“The central part of the city is highly congested and has narrow lanes. There are a lot of traffic jams and chaos due to the roadside parking and vehicles on the roads coming everyday to the marketplaces in the area. The special bus service initiative is to discourage citizens to travel in the central part of the city through private vehicles and also encourage them for maximum use of public transport,” said Hemant Rasane, chairperson of the Standing Committee.

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The city’s public bus transport service, PMPML, will charge Rs 10 for a ticket which will be valid for the entire day.

The PMC had earlier started the ATAL service through the PMPML in which commuters can travel 5 km for Rs 5, Rasane said, “The new service to commute for Rs 10 throughout the day will be an additional service in the central part of the city. It is specially designed for congested areas where the PMC will later go for no parking or pay and park service to discourage citizens from getting private vehicles on congested roads. This service will be extended in other parts of the city by December.”

The PMC will use only CNG buses on the nine routes in the central part of the city to reduce the air pollution, he said.

The central part of the city has the largest cloth market on Laxmi Road and Kumthekar road, wholesale market for books in Appa Balwant chowk, stationary items in Raviwar Peth, electrical and electronics in Budhwar Peth, automobile parts in Rasta Peth, hardware and timber Market on Shankarsheth Road, utensils market in Ghorpadi and Shukarwar Peth, the famous Tulsi Baug market and Mahatma Phule vegetable market.

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The central part of the city also has various religious places including the famous Shreemant Dagdusheth Ganesh temple and Kasba ganesh temple. It has historical monuments such as Shaniwarwada, Vishrambaug Wada and Lal Mahal.

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Ajay Jadhav

Ajay Jadhav is an Assistant Editor with The Indian Express, Pune. He writes on Infrastructure, Politics, Civic issues, Sustainable Development and related stuff. He is a trekker and a sports enthusiast. Ajay has written research articles on the Conservancy staff that created a nationwide impact in framing policy to improve the condition of workers handling waste. Ajay has been consistently writing on politics and infrastructure. He brought to light the lack of basic infrastructure of school and hospital in the hometown of Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde even as two private helipads were developed by the leader who mostly commutes from Mumbai to Satara in helicopter. Ajay has been reporting on sustainable development initiatives that protects the environment while ensuring infrastructure development. ... Read More

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