PMPML closes 23 out of 40 rural routes to rejuvenate MSRTC services

Losses have prompted the Pune Mahanagar Parivahan Mahamandal Limited (PMPML) to begin the process of closing down as many as 40 routes in the rural areas of Pune district in a phase-wise manner. Till date, 23 out of the 40-odd routes have been closed, with the remaining routes to be soon closed down. Whereas passengers have to now opt for state transport (ST) buses to travel on these rural routes.

As per information shared by the PMPML, during the long MSRTC strike last year, the PMPML started many new routes, especially in the rural parts of Pune district, for the benefit of the commuters. Whereas the PMPML buses continued to be operational on these rural routes even after the MSRTC strike ended. The MSRTC Pune division then sent letters to the PMPML to close down these routes as it was impacting the MSRTC bus service. Accordingly, it was decided to close down 40 such routes in the rural parts of the state.

Currently, there are 104 bus routes outside the jurisdiction of the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) and Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) whereas prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, there were only 57 such routes in the rural parts of the state. So far, 23 out of the 40 routes have been closed down and the remaining routes will also be closed down soon. “As per our discussions and the letter sent by the MSRTC, it was decided to close down 40 rural routes on which the ST bus services have started again. While in the first phase, 11 routes were closed and now, 12 routes have been closed so a total of 23 routes has been closed down till now. Soon, the remaining routes too will be closed down from our side,” said Dattatray Zende, PMPML traffic manager.

Some of the major routes in the rural parts which the PMPML has closed down include: Nigdi to Lonavala railway station, Swargate to Belawade, Hadapsar to Morgaon, Saswad to Yavat and Katraj to Pabalgaon.