Decline in commuters opting for the Pune Buses
27 May, 2013An application filed under the Right to Information (RTI) Act by a NGO has revealed that the Pune Mahanagar Parivahan Mahamandal Limited (PMPML) has seen a drop in the number of commuters who opted for passes by 66,039 during the past 14 months. There were 2,97,266 pass holders in January 2012 which dropped to 2,31,227 in March 2013. From 905 in January 2012, the daily ridership per bus has also come down to 767 in March 2013.The RTI application was filed by the commuters' group PMP Pravasi Manch.
Generally organisations favour pass holders to develop a loyal base of customers who pay money in advance. These commuters assure better utilisation of the utilities and act as an excellent medium of mouth to mouth publicity. The money paid by these customers has little chances of pilferage at any level thereby boosting the profit levels.
Many social groups have taken up the issue of reducing the rates for the pass holders with the PMPML and the topic is likely to be raised in forthcoming meeting of the board of directors. PMP Pravasi Manch has claimed that at the peak occupancy hours, there are around 15 per cent ticketless travellers in PMPML buses which can be reduced by encouraging people to opt for passes. The rise in the rate of passes has affected the commuters, especially senior citizens.