Shirole bats for prepaid auto booth at new ST stand

PUNE: Shivajinagar MLA Siddharth Shirole visited the new State Transport bus stand at Wakdewadi’s Aarey ground and said a prepaid rickshaw counter needs to be started there to stop harassment of commuters by rickshaw drivers.

Shirole visited the new terminus on Saturday with officials including Deputy Commissioner of Police Prasad Akkanwar, officials concerned from Public Works Department, MSRTC and Traffic Planning Department of PMC.

He asked the officials of Pune city traffic police, State Transport Department and Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) to take steps to resolve the problems faced by passengers visiting this temporary State Transport stand. 

“After the inspection and dialogue with Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) staffers and passengers, the need was felt to re-do the road design - especially the divider, carry out repair work of the footpath and appoint a traffic constable at entry and exit routes,” said Shirole.

Apart from this, decisions to set up a prepaid autorickshaw booking stall at the terminus and creating a two-wheeler parking facility have  been taken.

“Many passengers still don’t know about the shifting of the terminus and end up landing at the old site in Shivajinagar. Autorickshaw drivers sometimes charge exorbitantly although the distance is just about a kilometre. Also, passengers who deboard buses find it difficult to get autorickshaws. Hence, we have decided to set up a prepaid rickshaw booth at the terminus,” he said.

The MSRTC had shifted the Shivajinagar bus stand to Wakdewadi stand a month ago. Sakal Times had published the news about lack of basic facilities at the new ST stand. 

Absence of basic amenities and traffic plan outside the stand has caused severe traffic congestion at the entrance and exit routes of the terminus.

The ongoing Pune Metro construction work in Shivajinagar had forced MSRTC to shift the busy bus stand to this new location.