Amid growing losses, Pune civic body demands that PMPML hike bus fares

The losses of the PMPML have increased and the PMC will have to bear 60% of the financial burden. Therefore, we will have to decide on the bus fare hike. The issue will be raised in the PMPML board meeting, said Prithviraj B P, additional commissioner

As the Pune Mahanagar Parivahan Mahamandal Limited (PMPML) is facing increasing losses every year, 60% of which will be borne by the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC), the civic body is now demanding that the PMPML hike its bus fares to help address the financial burden.

The last bus fare hike of 20% was proposed in 2012 after which PMPML managing director Shrikar Pardeshi revised the fare structure (in multiples of five) to avoid arguments between passengers and conductors over change. (HT FILE)

Prithviraj B P, additional commissioner, said, “The losses of the PMPML have increased and the PMC will have to bear 60% of the financial burden. Therefore, we will have to decide on the bus fare hike. The issue will be raised in the PMPML board meeting.”

The last bus fare hike of 20% was proposed in 2012 after which PMPML managing director Shrikar Pardeshi revised the fare structure (in multiples of five) to avoid arguments between passengers and conductors over change. Again in 2022, the PMPML planned to raise regular bus fares by 20% and electric bus fares by 40% but nothing happened.

“Presently, the bus fare for both regular and electric AC buses is the same. There should be at least a ₹5 difference between regular and AC bus fares. The losses are increasing every day, making it very difficult to manage the PMPML,” said a PMPML official on condition of anonymity.

“The fare hike was proposed to cover the daily losses incurred by the transport body due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The hike was meant to improve facilities for commuters,” the official said.

PMPML buses operate within Pune, Pimpri-Chinchwad, and the Pune Metropolitan Region (PMR). The PMPML fleet comprises 2,100 buses out of which 450 are out-of-service due to malfunctioning or other reasons and the remaining 1,650 buses operate daily, serving around 13 lakh passengers. However, the number of buses is still insufficient for daily travel needs. The expenses of the PMPML include employee salaries, pensions, CNG gas, bus rental contracts, and other costs, amounting to over ₹1,400 crore annually. The PMPML generates only ₹700 to ₹725 crore, which means that expenditure is nearly 50% higher than income. According to officials, the PMPML cannot cover these costs; both the Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad municipalities have agreed to bear the losses. The PMC will bear 60% of the losses while the PCMC will bear 40%. Although the PMRDA was also supposed to contribute for services within its area, only one year’s payment has been collected so far. The PMPML has seen its losses triple since 2017-18, reaching ₹734 crore in the last financial year, according to the annual report. In 2017-18, the total loss was ₹204 crore. By 2023-24, the loss increased to ₹734 crore, the highest for any public transport body controlled by the Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad municipal corporations.