Private Bus Fares Increase By 25% In Pune For Summer Vacations

Sumit Singh

Pune, 4th May 2023: Private bus operators have increased their fares by 20 to 25 percent in view of the summer vacation season, leading to a hike in ticket prices for passengers traveling to and from various destinations.

The fare hike is reportedly due to the rise in diesel prices along with the tourist season. This will have an impact on the pockets of a large number of migrants from Vidarbha, Konkan, West Maharashtra, North Maharashtra, and Marathwada, who are living in Pune city and surrounding areas.

These citizens frequently travel to their hometowns during the vacation period. Approximately 2,500 buses ply from Pune to various parts of the state every day, with about one lakh passengers traveling on this route every day.

It is mandatory for private buses to charge a maximum fare of one and a half times only as compared to the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) bus fare. If private bus operators charge more than this, action will be taken by the transport department. Therefore, private bus operators are taking precautions to ensure that the fare is not charged more than one and a half times.

However, the MSRTC has decided to give 50 percent discount in ticket fare to women, leading to a lesser impact of the fare hike on women passengers. It is observed that the discount has impacted private bus services to some extent. The discount for women has made ST buses the preferred mode of transportation for short-distance passenger transport from Pune to Mumbai, Ahmednagar, Satara, Kolhapur, Solapur, Baramati, and Nashik.

There is heavy passenger traffic from Pune areas such as Wakad, Nigdi, Pimpri, Chinchwad, Kalewadi, Bhosari, Nashik Phata, Warje, Vadgaon, Katraj, Padmavati, Swargate, Vishrantwadi, Shivajinagar, Wakdewadi, Hadapsar, Yerwada, and Wagholi. Passengers traveling to these destinations are expected to bear the brunt of the fare hike.