Rude PMPML bus driver snaps at passengers, threatens to thrash one

PUNE: A driver of a Pune Mahanagar Parivahan Mahamandal Limited (PMPML) allegedly misbehaved with passengers and threatened to assault one of them on Sunday.
The incident took place at the Kothrud bus depot. “The bus (No. R-016) was coming from the NDA area. When it reached the Kothrud depot at around 3pm, the driver and the conductor got out of the vehicle and disappeared. After a while, a new driver got into the bus. We realized that this was a duty change. However, the conductor was still missing. After waiting for 25 minutes, passengers were beginning to lose patience. Some elderly women asked the driver about the delay. The man snapped at them and said they should have taken a different bus if they were tired of the delay. He was very rude to them,” said Sumit Sinha, another passenger.

The driver allegedly got angrier when Sinha intervened. “He told me I was free to go anywhere and complain about him. I too got angry and we had an argument. Suddenly he said he would ‘thrash ’ me if I didn’t keep quiet. The man was not worried about the consequences even when I took his photo on my cellphone,” Sinha said.

Many believe the public transport provider is relapsing to its old lackadaisical attitude after the recent exit of Tukaram Mundhe, who, as the CMD, was known for pulling up errant employees and implementing tough measures. They want Nayana Gunde, the new CMD, to stop the situation from deteriorating.

“Last week, at Fatimanagar, the bus arrived 40 minutes late. After a few days, it did not stop at Swargate. Though things at PMPML had improved in the past few months, they seem to be slipping again,” Akshay Undare, a resident of Kothrud, told TOI.

Kartik Bage, another regular commuter, agreed. “The buses have again started arriving late. The new CMD should do something about this,” Bage said.

When contacted, Subhash Gaikwad, PMPML’s PRO, said though the officials were unaware of Sunday’s incident, the matter will be looked into. “We will contact the Kothrud depot manager. Misbehaving with passengers cannot be tolerated. This bus belongs to a private contractor, possibly Mahalaxmi Transports. The matter will be investigated, starting Monday,” he said.