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A week after Pune Metro launch: Haphazard parking, crowding at ticket counters a big worry
PUNE Pune Metro which started its operation on March 6, saw 2,06,600 people travelling in the last one week on two priority stretches – Vanaz to Garware college and Pimpri to Phugewadi
PUNE Pune Metro which started its operation on March 6, saw 2,06,600 people travelling in the last one week on two priority stretches – Vanaz to Garware college and Pimpri to Phugewadi.
Metro being the most awaited project for Pune residents, majority of them are coming with family to get the joyride of watching city roads from the height of 28 metres.
Vanaz to Garware college which is a part of Line 2 (Vanaz to Ramwadi) has witnessed traffic of 1,38,857 people travelling in Metro while on Pimpri to Phugewadi which is part of Line 1 (PCMC to Swargate) saw 56,158 people taking a metro ride in the first week.
The Metro has 27 rides on both stations from 8 am to 9pm
A Maha-Metro official requesting anonymity said, “After the launch, the focus now is to complete the remaining work. There is no major work remaining at Vanaz station, a few minor works need to be paid attention.”
Crowd control at the ticket counter was a major task, as stations become overcrowded during peak hours. A few residents complained regarding the need of more counters. Currently most stations have only three counters. On March 9, Maha-Metro launched the Pune metro app which was a relief as most people opted to book tickets online, said officials.
Features of the app
Pune Metro app has features such as book ticket, fare enquiry, feeder services among others. Through book ticket tab: A person can book one way, return or group tickets (Above 10). Through this feature, the person can decide and select the station and journey that he/she wants to go for. On selection total fare will be shown for the selected journey. After the launching of app 11, 585 people have booked tickets via the app.
Gaurav Marathe who travelled in the Metro with family on Sunday said, “There should be more announcements made regarding scheduling as many people are unware of the return timings.”
Parking woes
Residents have also complained about the lack of parking space at the station. Here, a footpath is used for parking which causes problems for pedestrians.
“Not having proper parking is the biggest issue. The 5km stretch between Vanaz to Garware college is already crowded and now footpath is encroached by the vehicles which is making waking very difficult since last one week,” said Suhas Kulkarni, a resident of Anandnagar.
