Public transport paucity key cause of traffic snarls in Pune’s Hinjewadi IT park area - Hindustan Times
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Public transport paucity key cause of traffic snarls in Pune’s Hinjewadi IT park area

Hindustan Times, Pune | ByShrinivas Deshpande
Dec 11, 2018 03:34 PM IST

Survey has highlighted decreasing share of PMPML buses, which hardly contributes 5 per cent to overall traffic in Hinjewadi

A residents and employees trust in Hinjewadi wants the employees of IT firms in Hinjewadi to start an early shift, before 8 am, to reduce traffic snarls on roads leading to the tech hub.

An average of 47,000 vehicles pass through Shivaji chowk towards Hinjewadi between 7am and 1pm every day.(HT FILE PHOTO)
An average of 47,000 vehicles pass through Shivaji chowk towards Hinjewadi between 7am and 1pm every day.(HT FILE PHOTO)

However, the traffic woes of Hinjewadi do not seem to end. Despite repeated appeal by the Hinjewadi based IT firms to their staff for using public transport or go for carpooling, the latest study finds out that only five per cent public transport buses ply on the street in Hinjewadi.

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The study conducted by Hinjewadi employees and residents trust (HEART), an NGO, which was handed over to Pimpri-Chinchwad police commissioner police on Friday, shows that the two wheelers and four wheelers owned by IT firm staff contribute to around 83 per cent of overall traffic in Hinjewadi.

The study conducted by HEART was mainly focused on traffic related challenges during the first half of the day from 7 am to 1 pm.The study was conducted when circular traffic system was implemented on trial basis in September with an adjective to quantify the traffic load and systematically analyse the issue and to come up with concrete and reasonable lasting solutions.

The study revealed that, an average of 47,000 vehicles pass through Shivaji Chowk towards Hinjewadi between 7 am to 1 pm with an average of 130 vehicles per minute. Out of these 47,000 vehicles,two wheelers contribute to 61 per cent (28,925) followed by 22 per cent share of private cars (10,304). Private cabs contribute 8 per cent (3,694) and three wheelers including auto rickshaws contributes 4 per cent (1,992).

The survey highlighted decreasing share of public transport buses including Pune mahanagar parivahan mahamandal ltd (PMPML) which hardly contributes 5 per cent in overall traffic in Hinjewadi.

President of HEART, Dnyanedra Hulsure said, “Our findings clearly show that there is a rise in share of non public transport system in Hinjewadi traffic, despite appeal to promote public transport.The reason behind it, is that the civic body has failed to provide good means of public transport. We have suggested to improve public transport system including Metro,PMPML buses to decongest traffic in Hinjewadi.”

Pimpri-Chinchwad police commissioner, K Padmanabhan said,“We have accepted the report and findings were shocking.The increased share of two wheeler riders clearly indicates the status of public transport system.To improve traffic situation,we started coordinating in between PMPML, Maharashtra industrial development corporation (MIDC), Hinjewadi industries association (HIA) and civic authority.We will try to implement possible suggestions advised in the report.” Circular traffic system has improved the situation up to some extent but this is not long term solution, Padmanabhan added.

“22 per cent private cars are occupying a lot of road space but carrying very few people. This is the root cause of traffic jams.People will shift to public transport only if buses are not stuck in traffic and ensuring people that they can reach on time reliably. For this during peak hour traffic police should create a dedicated bus lane and Cars carrying less than 3 passengers should be banned at peak hour,”said Ranjit Gadgil traffic expert and program director at Parisar. Gadgil also suggested that,road transport authority (RTA) should allow private bus operators to provide stage carriage services originating or ending in Hinjewadi to ensure supply of good quality bus service.

The survey further elaborated that,out of these 5 per cent (1,418) share of buses around 1,237 buses were operated by private players and only 181 buses were run by government organization like PMPML.The HEART team found that,the frequency of PMPML buses per hour is around 30 as against 236 private buses.The survey suggested that,the number of buses required to manage the transport needs is three times more than the current frequency.

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