The situation can however be changed if there are investments from the state government and the municipal corporations not only for procurement of buses, but also for workshops, and additional bus depots, senior PMPML officials said.
The transport utility has to focus on basic operations and good services to cater to the people in the urban agglomeration of Pune, Pimpri Chinchwad and their fringe areas, PMPML’s chairman and managing director Abhishek Krishna said recently .There are limitations in getting revenue from advertisements and giving buildings on rent, he added.
The transport utility , on an average, plies about 1,400 buses every day. On Mondays and Thursdays, the number of buses increase to nearly 1,500. “While there are several proposals wherein buses can be procured on a deferred payment basis, or financial institutions offering low interest rates, these buses will become a headache in six months. This is because the buses need regular maintenance. While we have two workshops, we need at least two more. Every bus depot needs a small workshop. Even a two-day old bus will suffer a breakdown if it is not maintained properly ,“ Krishna said.
While officials could not come up with figures of the daily or monthly breakdown of buses, they pointed out that nearly 30% buses in the fleet are between eight and 12 years old and their maintenance costs are high. The Pune Municipal Corporation has handed over vacant land in five octroi posts which are not in use. However, the Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation is sitting on a proposal to hand over three pieces of land in its octroi posts.
The PMPML has already started two depots at Bhekrainagar, and Shewalwadi on Pune-Solapur Road. A third depot is likely to start at Balewadi this month, officials said.
Guardian minister Girish Bapat, who reviewed the functioning of PMPML last week, has promised a followup of the long-pending proposal of 2.5 FSI for bus terminals and depots, besides looking at land acquisition for new bus depots and terminals.
THREE CHEERS FOR BRTS
Two BRTS corridors, inaugurated recently in Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad, have won the `outstanding achievement award’, in the Volvo sustainability awards instituted in 2011.The two corridors together carry one lakh passengers every day. Surveys have revealed that about 12% riders in the Rainbow BRTS earlier used twowheelers, rickshaws and even cars.
“This is the first time that BRTS has received recognition. Rainbow is the first-of-its-kind BRTS in Maharashtra.With the launch of Nashik PhataWakad corridor last week, the BRTS is now extending high quality public transport services to several thousand more passengers,“ PMPML’s chairman and managing director Abhishek Krishna said.
Additional standard features of BRTS such as off-board ticketing and better buses have been planned. The 8km SangamwadiVishrantwadi corridor was inaugurated in the last week of August, while the 14km Sangvi-Kiwale corridor was inaugurated in September. The Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad municipal corporations have built the infrastructure for BRTS. The two cities are together planning a 115km Rainbow BRTS network.
Source : TOI
