Over 2 crore drop in ridership hits PMPML hard
There has been a steady drop in daily commuters which has severely impacted the public transport body’s finances
PUNE: Pune Mahanagar Parivahan Mahamandal Limited (PMPML) has witnessed a sharp fall of over 2.25 crore commuters in the financial year 2024–25 as compared to the previous year, leading to a revenue loss of ₹47 crore. The decline in ridership has been attributed to poorly maintained buses, inadequate passenger facilities, and increasing preference for Metro services on long routes.
There has been a steady drop in daily commuters which has severely impacted the public transport body’s finances. PMPML, which operates around 1,700 buses across Pune, Pimpri-Chinchwad and the Pune Metropolitan Region (PMR), has been struggling with operational losses over the years. Despite efforts to cut operational costs and boost earnings, PMPML’s monthly revenue has failed to cross ₹50 crore in 11 out of the 12 months in FY 2024-25. Collections have touched ₹57 crore only in August 2024 whereas in the financial year 2023-24, revenue crossed ₹50 crore in seven out of 12 months.
So much so that both the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) and Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) are regularly required to provide financial assistance, and PMPML has now approached Pune Metropolitan Region Development Authority (PMRDA) for support to meet its annual deficit. Although funds for the current year are yet to be received, PMRDA has cleared the proposal to procure new buses to strengthen services.
Officials said that the measures implemented in 2023-24 under the then-chairman Omprakash Bakoria and commissioner Sachindra Pratap Singh helped improve ridership and revenue by reducing breakdowns and deploying additional buses. Senior officers were assigned route inspections and specific targets to improve poorly performing routes. However, after the transfer of these officials the momentum appears to have slowed down and administrative efficiency has taken a hit.
Even as the PMR’s population has grown, PMPML’s daily ridership has fallen from over 12 lakhs to around 10 lakhs. The situation has worsened due to the lack of new routes and poor frequency on many existing routes, particularly during peak hours.
PMPML chairperson Deepa Mudhol-Munde acknowledged the challenges but expressed confidence about the future. “The drop in passengers and revenue was mainly because many older buses were scrapped. New buses are being added to the fleet, and we expect both ridership and income to improve in the coming year,” she said.
One of the biggest hurdles is PMPML’s ageing fleet. Around 266 buses were decommissioned last year, while 327 PMPML-owned buses have already crossed 12 years of service. Frequent breakdowns and service disruptions have led to further passenger inconvenience. With delays in new bus acquisitions, PMPML has been forced to continue running old, unreliable vehicles, reducing bus availability and further denting ridership and revenue.
Shraddha Shinde, a regular commuter, said, “I used to depend on PMPML buses daily to get to work but now the service has become unreliable. The buses are late half the time or don’t show up. I’ve switched to ride-sharing apps — they cost more but are dependable.”
Ganesh Jadhav, a college student from Pimpri, said, “My college is in Deccan and I used to take a PMPML bus every morning. Now the buses are fewer and more crowded. Sometimes I have to wait for over 30 minutes. So many of my friends have switched to two-wheelers.”
Going forward, PMPML’s revival depends on timely fleet renewal, better route management, and restoration of public confidence. Unless these issues are addressed, the transport body risks deepening operational losses and losing more passengers to other modes of transport.
