No traffic rules for transport utility? Seems so

City DCP (traffic),Manoj Patil admitted this was an issue. “The problem of PMPML buses can definitely be solved by better management of flow of buses. We also organise training programmes for PMPML drivers,” he said.

A senior traffic police officer said the issue had to be tackled at a different level. “There is serious lack of co-ordination between traffic police and PMPML authorities… Buses are supposed to use the leftmost lane. But they keep packing into at least two lanes of the road. There seems to be no rule of the law for PMPML buses,” he said.

Traffic police department that has set out to teach commuters the finer points of lane-driving also seem toothless against PMPML drivers notorious for taking a huge turn from extreme left to extreme right on busy junctions. At the receiving end are pedestrians and commuters on bikes and in cars.

Ashish Nerlekar,a daily commuter between Erandvane and Aundh,said,“These PMPML drivers must be taught traffic etiquette. The way they stop in the middle of the road is illogical. There must be paths drawn on the streets for buses to approach the stop. Moreover,few buses have indicators or brake lights. That is dangerous for other commuters. “

Sunil Gawali,traffic manager,PMPML,defended his department saying,“This is basically policy matter. There are no places within the city for us to park the buses.”

When asked about any guidelines or rules for PMPML buses,Gawali said,“We do not have such guidelines. At bus stops,people come forward as a bus approaches. The driver has no choice but to stop the bus somewhere in the middle of the road.”

Harshad Abhyankar of Save Pune Traffic Movement said,“Surprisingly,traffic police have given permission for parking vehicles at places next to bus stops. PMPML has 10 bus depots,seven in Pune and three in Pimpri-Chinchwad. This was for a fleet of 400 buses. Now the number of buses in the city has quadrupled but we have the same number of depots.”

The comprehensive mobility plan of Pune suggests that 12 to 15 per cent of the geographical area of the city be reserved for streets,parking lots,bus and rickshaw depots,petrol pumps and other traffic-related infrastructure. But Pune has allocated just six per cent of its area.