The Pune Mahanagar Parivahan Mahamandal Limited (PMPML) will divert around 1,056 buses for municipal poll duty. According to the public transport utility, Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad municipal bodies have requisitioned 642 and 414 buses during morning shift on January 14 and afternoon service on January 15 for election-related work. The mobilisation of buses for poll duty will disrupt commuter services on regular city, suburban and PMRDA routes.
“We already struggle to board buses during rush hours. If more than a thousand buses are taken off regular routes, the situation will become unbearable,” said Pawan Dahinje, a commuter at Swargate bus depot.
“During elections, authorities think only about arrangements, but common passengers end up suffering the most,” said Megha Tindani from Pimpri.
Pankaj Deore, chairman and managing director, PMPML, said, “Providing buses for election duty is a mandatory responsibility, and we have planned operations accordingly. While there may be some inconvenience to passengers on these two days, we are making efforts to manage services efficiently and request commuters to cooperate.”