MSRTC to add 16 more trips via Pimpri-Chinchwad, increasing the current frequency from every 1 hour 15 minutes to half an hour
MSRTC to add 16 more trips via Pimpri-Chinchwad, increasing the current frequency from every 1 hour 15 minutes to half an hour
Commutersu00a0using the state-run Shivneri bus service to shuttle between the city and Mumbai will have cause to cheer. The Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) will add 16 more trips on its route passing through the Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) limits to Mumbai, thus effectively truncating the waiting period by an hour. Currently, the frequency of a bus headed towards Dadar via Pimpri-Chinchwad is one every one-and-a-half-hours. 
More on its way: Eight new buses will be added to the existing fleet with
each making two trips. File pic
The routes passing through PCMC route is part of Shivneri's Pune-Dadar route, which also has buses going through the Parihar Chowk in Aundh. The buses going through Parihar Chowk has terrific frequency with a bus departing from the Pune station depot and Swargate stand every 15 minutes, and a total of 72 trips each day.
Officials from the MSRTC said they had received several requests from commuters in the past for increasing services on the PCMC routes. "We were waiting for the head office in Mumbai to allot more buses which they have finally done. Pimpri-Chinchwad is now a highly developed area, with a formidable industrial presence," said an MSRTC official on condition of anonymity, as he is not authorised to speak to the media.
MSRTC's Divisional Traffic Controller Shivaji Kakade said, "The new services will begin in the next 15 days. Each bus will make a maximum of two trips," said Kakade. Currently, the Pune-Dadar services operate from the Pune station bus depot. The Swargate depot has buses on the Pune-Borivali and Pune-Thane route. There are seven buses on the Borivali route that make 11 trips and 10 buses on the Thane route that make 20 trips. These buses take the Vanaz-Kothrud-Chandni Chowk while driving towards Mumbai.
Commuters have welcomed the move with some even suggesting that the authority should now explore new routes apart from the existing ones. Bhalachandra Jadhav (25), an engineer from Mumbai who often travels to Pune, said that owing to the low frequency of buses at Pimpri, he had to hire private vehicles which were often unreliable. "I often have to travel to Pimpri to consult various industries based there and then have to immediately head back home. Private taxis are sometimes costly and unreliable at times. The increased frequency is really a welcome move," said Jadhav.
Poorva Chavan (22), a student from Mumbai who often travels to Pune, said that the corporation should also now explore new routes passing through areas in Baner, which were also developing. "This will increase their consumer base. The service is more reliable than private bus operators and new routes to travel till the Expressway will only give them an edge in the market," said Chavan.
Shivajinagar depot manager SR Burande said that eight new buses will be added of which each bus would make two trips making up 16 trips. "The same number of buses will be added to the Parel depot in Mumbai which too will make two trips. Thus commuters living in both the cities will benefit," said Burande.
u00a0
16
Number of trips to be added by the MSRTC
30
Frequency of buses from Pune to Dadar via Pimpri-Chinchwad
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