A Strong Bus System
There is no doubt that Pune needs a significantly revamped public transport. To put numbers in perspective, the Comprehensive Mobility Plan of Pune sets a target of supporting 50% trips by public transport.
Even if Pune builds a network of 100km Metro by then, it will support only about 6-7% of our trips. Rickshaws and cabs are considered ‘intermediate public transport’, and would account for about 8-10%. The remaining will have to be supported by the bus.
Pune needs at least 3000 buses right now in 2025, as per the widely acknowledged rule of thumb of ‘Lakh ko 50’ (50 buses per lakh population. (Thus PMPML needs about 5000 buses today, since it serves Pimpri-Chinchwad as well as some areas in PMRDA. It has only 2100 or so.)
The buses-
- Must be of much higher quality than today: Preferably electric AC buses.
- Must not get stuck in traffic on roads. This will ensure reliability.
High quality and reliability are a must if we hope that commuters will switch from personal vehicles.
SPTM intends to work on these aspects soon.