In the pre-independence era, tongas and bicycles were a popular mode of transport to travel in the city, which was then limited to only peth areas; whereas a bullock cart was used for long distance travel.
After India’s independence, state transport buses began operations, offering a relief to residents. Pune was also known as the ‘city of bicycles’ as many of them had bicycles.
From tongas, to bicycles, to buses, trains and now metros, the city’s transport services have finally come of age, but the residents traffic woes have remained constant.
In 1950, the public transport bus service was started by the Pune Nagarpalika under Pune Municipal Transport (PMT) in compliance with Bombay Provincial Municipal Corporations (BPMC) Act, 1949. It was the first ever public transport service started within the city with 57 buses plying 14 routes.
On June 1, 1948, the first state transport bus was launched between Pune and Ahmednagar. It had 27 seats. Now, the Pune division of Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) has 13 depots with a fleet of 900 buses.
Mandar Lawate city-based historian said, “Much before independence Tonga was one of the modes of transport along with others like bullock cart or horses to travel a distance. But Pune was known as the city of bicycles. Once auto rickshaws came, cycles and tongas vanished.”
{{/usCountry}}Mandar Lawate city-based historian said, “Much before independence Tonga was one of the modes of transport along with others like bullock cart or horses to travel a distance. But Pune was known as the city of bicycles. Once auto rickshaws came, cycles and tongas vanished.”
{{/usCountry}}According to Lawate, as industries were set up in Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad, most of the workers would travel by bicycles, thus, earning the name ‘city of cycles’. “This was the time when Punekars started earning good money and there was entry of two-wheelers like Chetak scooter, bullet motorcycles and others. Also, the autorickshaws became an integral part of the transportation as Pune after Regional Transport Office (RTO) started issuing auto permits to people,” said Lawate.
The Pune railway too has a history, with the main building being set up in 1925. While the train operations at the Pune railway station started way back in 1858, initially, only one train was running from Pune to Khandala. When the railway lines were expanded, train operations started to Solapur and Miraj in 1886. Currently, at least 220 train operations are carried out from Pune railway station, with a passenger footfall of three lakh per day during peak vacation periods.
Pune has been long waiting for a separate civilian airport, as the Indian Air Force’s (IAF) airport at Lohegaon offers limited flight operations. While discussions and politics have taken over, plan for Pune’s new airport still remain on paper.
“Looking at Pune’s population, there is an urgent need of a separate civilian airport. We have read about the new land given and the politics over it. As the nation turns 75, we hope that Pune gets an airport soon,” said Dhairyashil Vandekar, city-based aviation expert and analyst.