In the proposed system, the fare will range between Rs 50 and Rs 150.WITH the lockdown landing it in unprecedented financial trouble, the Pune Mahanagar Parivahan Mahamandal Limited (PMPML) has proposed a fare hike of Rs 5 for electric buses. Earlier, the transport body has announced that air-conditioned and e-buses will provide the service at the prevailing rates.
The decision on this proposal – as well as others including a fare hike for night services, revised fare for airport service and reducing the daily pass price to Rs 40 per day from the current price of Rs 70 – will be taken in a meeting of the board of directors (BOD) scheduled on Thursday.
The PMPML is in the process of buying 500 air-conditioned and electric buses, of which 142 buses have already joined its fleet last year. At the time of the deciding to acquire the e-bus fleet, the then PMPML administration had promised that the new bus fare will be the same as the prevailing rates for diesel-run buses.
While transport body authorities have been pushing for an increase in the fare in the last few meetings of the BoD, a formal proposal has now been drawn up.
The management has also proposed to revise the fare structure for its airport service. After the resumption of its regular operations earlier this month, the PMPML had announced the beginning of airport services on six routes. Currently, the fare, based on the distance of the route, ranges between Rs 70 and Rs 100. In the proposed system, the fare will range between Rs 50 and Rs 150.
There will be some relief for the commuters, however, if the proposal to reduce the daily pass price from Rs 70 to Rs 40 per day is approved.
“We have proposed to bring down the daily pass rate to Rs 40. This is the cheapest price of the daily pass in recent times. A few years ago, when it was priced at Rs 50, it was immensely popular. Later, the price went up to Rs 70. Now we have decided to bring it down to Rs 40. Also, for those who are travelling in the heart of the city – within a small radius – the daily pass will be priced at Rs 20,” said Shankar Pawar, a member of the PMPML BoD.
📣 The Indian Express is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel (@indianexpress) and stay updated with the latest headlines
For all the latest Pune News, download Indian Express App.