With only 2 of 472 operations in profit, PMPML once again goes for route rationalisation

Pune: The monetary loss of Pune Mahanagar Parivahan Mahamandal Limited (PMPML) has mounted to ₹766 crore in the financial year 2024-25 from ₹696 crore the previous fiscal. Of the around 1,600 buses plying on 472 routes daily, only two — Swargate to Katraj and PMC bus stop to Nigdi — are in profit, according to officials.

The public transport body has once again undertaken route rationalisation to reduce the losses, officials said.

The per km expense is ₹114 and per km income is ₹53 for the transport body. With new buses planned to be added to the fleet, the route rationalisation process is going to be done by PMPML.

Deepa Mudhol Munde, chairman and managing director, PMPML, said, “Route rationalisation is a continuous work to turn the transport body into a profit-making organisation. With the addition of new buses, we are going to rework and reschedule the routes which are into losses.”

According to another senior officer, PMPML plans to drop some of the non-earning routes after completing the study of all operations.

“We will study every route, its income and losses, and accordingly, plan the schedules for the morning, afternoon and evening slots. The bus frequency will be increased once the route rationalisation is done,” said a senior official on condition of anonymity.

As per the information given by the PMPML administration, the transport body operates on 472 routes daily with many plying far off the city. However, barring some three routes, most of the stretches are incurring losses. The biggest loss comes from buses operating on routes of 21-30 km, which number 88 and have bleeded the firm by ₹282 crore in a year.

The daily travel distance covered by PMPML across Pune, Pimpri-Chinchwad, and the Pune Metropolitan Region Development Authority (PMRDA) region is 3.6 lakh km. The cost per km is ₹114, while revenue per km is just ₹53, resulting in a loss of ₹61 per km. As a result, PMPML’s total loss has now reached ₹766 crore, a sevenfold increase in the past 11 years — from ₹99 crore to ₹766 crore.

The transport body, according to officials, earns around ₹1.5 crore daily from passenger transport, but employee salaries, contractor bus rentals, and non-passenger transport expenses take up lion’s share of business. This financial year alone, losses have increased by ₹40 crore.

Jugal Rathi, president, PMP Pravasi Manch said, “The PMPML administration knows the reasons why it is going in losses for many years, and they need to work towards commuter centric service. Public transport is a part of essential services and so whether it is profit or loss is not the point of discussion. Many officials in the past are responsible for the poor state of PMPML. With the optimum usage of available sources, PMPML should always try to provide the best quality of service to citizens.”