As many as 125 traffic wardens have already been deployed on the route. (Express photo/File)
After the Nigdi-Dapodi Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS) saw chaotic traffic in the first five days after its launch, the PMPML administration finally swung into action on Wednesday to ensure that operations on the dedicated track ran smoothly.
PMPML CMD Nayana Gunde visited Pimpri-Chinchwad on Wednesday to observe the functioning of the route and issued a spate of directives to officials. Gunde ordered that if a bus fails on the BRTS route, the operator should be fined. She also instructed depot managers to ensure that only neat and clean buses plied on the BRTS route, and asked officials to install public information systems and boards to display routes at the bus stations.
“PMPML will also deploy four field officers, who will make a few trips from Nigdi to Dapodi every day. They will report to the PCMC and PMPML about problems, if any, and give their suggestions,” said Vijay Bhojne, head of PCMC’s BRTS cell.
The chief of the transport body said glitches in the Intelligent Transport Management System (ITMS), needed to operate the digital boards at the bus stations, have been resolved. “The ITMS at most bus stations has started functioning,” she said. Of the 36 bus stations, ITMS has started functioning at 24 bus stations, said Bhojne.
Gunde said she has ordered proper docking of buses at bus stations. “It the driver does not dock the bus properly at the bus station, it might cause an accident. I have ordered officials to train and instruct drivers, so that they dock buses properly at bus stations,” she said. The Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) and PMPML need help from traffic police to ensure smooth functioning of the BRTS route, said Gunde. “I will write to the Pimpri-Chinchwad police, urging them to help us in the task,” she said.
As many as 125 traffic wardens have already been deployed on the route, said Gunde. “We can’t deploy more than that… the merge in and merge out is creating a lot of problems on the route,” she said. The PMPML chief said there was a need to monitor the BRTS closely . “I will regularly visit Pimpri-Chinchwad to understand the problems…,” she said.