In another plan to get more people to use public transport, the Pune Mahanagar Parivahan Mahamandal Limited (PMPML) has introduced its new air-conditioned midi-bus, the Punyadasham. Fifty CNG-powered Eicher buses will be used as part of the Atal Seva Shuttle Scheme which will see these buses ply in the Peth areas of Pune with a flat fare of ₹10 which operates as a bus pass and can be used multiple times. The service was inaugurated on 9 July this year by former Chief Minister and current Leader of Opposition Shri Devendra Gangadharrao Fadnavis who travelled in the inaugural bus from Mahatma Phule Mandai to the Mayor’s House.
In order to buy the ticket, one must produce a government-issued ID such as a PAN Card, Aadhaar Card, etc. The existing ₹40 and ₹70 Daily Pass won’t work on these buses.
The 70 RS and 40 Rs day pass will be not work in this buses. Only 10 RS Pass. By taking these 10 RS Pass you can travel anywhere in central part of city in which the routes are allocated for this buses. The pictures of passes pic.twitter.com/n6IOkIWAvQ
In an article titledBus, Aadhaar dedo!, Pune Mirror decried this move as a bad idea, notwithstanding the fact that other cities such as Bangalore have had such a rule from 2015. They also lamented over how AC buses were violating Covid-19 norms in another article. It seems such criticism is only valid when a BJP-run Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PMC/PCMC) runs AC buses (PMPML) and not when a Shiv Sena-led Brihanmumbai and Thane MC (BMC/TMC) run AC buses (BEST/TMT) from the start of the Wuhan Virus pandemic. The Pune Mirror also cried along with the NCP when the Corporation decided to curtail 15 loss-making routes.
PMPML should however, consider using the existing Mi Card as an ID Card for these buses, since they are to be used as Common Ticketing systems for the Pune Metro.
A ₹10 AC ride in the heart of the city. Have fun, but take precautionary measures.
After a lengthy gap, I’ve managed to come across another delightful drone image, this time it is one something that I have been looking for over the last year and a half. Throughout the pandemic and subsequent lockdowns, we have seen aerial drone shots of different bus stations, depots and even a metro depot.
This is an aerial view of Asia’s largest bus terminus. Now before you get confused, this is not the erstwhile Millenium Park depot from Delhi. This is the Chennai Mofussil Bus Terminus (CMBT) officially known as the Puratchi Thalaivar Dr M. G. R Bus Terminus located at Koyambedu in Chennai. Spread over 37 acres, it serves as a common bus terminus for all outstation buses operated by the six Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporations (TNSTC) and the State Express Transport Corporation (SETC) while also serving buses to other states including the Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) and Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC). Till 2018, it also served Andhra Pradesh and Telangana-buses and buses of the Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Coporation (APSRTC) and Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (TSRTC), which have since been shifted to the Madhavaram Mofussil Bus Terminus (MMBT) in the northern suburbs of the city. It is also a major terminal for buses operated by the Metropolitan Transport Corporation (MTC), that is located at the front.
Take a look at this beautiful snap clicked by Beema with a DJI Mavic Air 2.
Apart from this, CMBT also houses a Metro station (officially the Puratchi Thalaivi Dr. J. Jayalalithaa CMBT Metro Station). The bus station was built in the early 2000s to decongest the earlier terminal located at Broadway near the Madras High Court. Behind the terminus is the Koyambedu Wholesale Market, the Chennai Contract Carriage Bus Terminus that caters to private outstation buses and the depot for the Green Line of the Chennai Metro.
That’s all from me this time folks. Do follow Beema on Instagram: @my_shutter_life.
Now you know what Asia’s largest bus terminus looks like from the air.
As part of a modernisation programme, the Pune Mahanagar Parivahan Mahanagar Mahamandal (PMPML) has decided to go in for development of 30 spaces that it owns, which includes 17 depots and 13 open spaces, reports in Punekar News and Hindustan Times have said. The project will be executed on a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) basis at a cost of ₹11,666 crore.
With the gap between revenue and expenditure shooting up from ₹23 crore in 2011-12 to ₹315 crore in 2019-20, PMPML is projecting its cumulative losses to touch ₹9,600 crore in the next ten years.
The newly built depots would feature workshops for maintenance of buses, along with parking facilities for the fleet while the upper levels would house commercial establishments including hotels, hospitals and office spaces.
A feasibility study was conducted by VK Associates which estimated that PMPML could earn up to ₹1,516 crore annually by redeveloping its depots and open spaces. The proposal is currently awaiting approval from higher authorities.
Owing to the ongoing pandemic, many transport corporations have been hit. PMPML on its part has been looking at alternative means of revenue generation, including setting up small kiosks at bus stops – a move that received unwarranted backlash over frivolous reasons – and also setting up a courier service.
Let’s hope PMPML goes forward with this development plan so that Pune can finally get the better public transport that it deserves.
In its quest to turn Mumbai into a global city, the government today added another feather to its cap. After repeatedly turning Mumbai into a seasonal Venice every monsoon, despite making promises to turn the city into a Shanghai or a Singapore, the government this year took inspiration from both Italy and Spain.
News agency ANI posted a video on Twitter showing bulls running across a flooded Malad Subway.
Many users took to Twitter to discuss the matter. Several thought it was the Tamil tradition of Jallikattu while some thought it was the Kannada tradition of Kambala. However, if one takes a closer look, it was actually more of Pamplona, in Navarre, Spain.
The three parties in the current administration of the state of Maharashtra have always professed international models to turn Mumbai into. While none of them have chosen mainstream Western cities like London and New York, they have focused more on the Eastern side, by deciding that Mumbai would be modelled on the likes of Shanghai and Singapore. However, since the deluge of 2005, Mumbai turns into a seasonal Venice every year. Note: A few people have linked this to the entry of an Italian-origin politician in India’s politics in 2004.
Given the current government’s penchant for global designs for the city, this is another feather in their cap. From canals based on Italy’s Venice, to Freedom of Expression based on China, this was inevitable. Oh and who can forget the Penguins at Byculla Zoo?
Take a look at the bull run scene from the 2011 Bollywood film Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara and you’ll see that they are very similar.
Bull Running in Pamplona from Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara
The current government is very proactive in using new methods to improve Mumbai’s global status. Last year, they switched over from Rolling Cloth displays to Dust Written displays on BEST buses. The proposed grand aquarium was established with fishes arriving at Parel.
From Italy, China and now Spain, Mumbai is imbibing global elements.
The last 14 months have been quite a strain on all of us with the pandemic and the consequential lockdown(s). With many places still under varying lockdown and lockdown-like situations, getting things to run a household is tough.
I was introduced to the concept of hyper-local delivery services in early 2018 when a start-up firm moved into the building where our office was located in Bangalore. Often, during coffee breaks we’d all gather on the terrace and talk about many things in general and on one such occasion, a co-founder of the firm explained the concept to me. The start-up eventually moved their offices elsewhere but has today become a well-known name in Bangalore – Telyport.
Shortly thereafter, I was introduced to an app called Dunzo. It had become popular and had just received $128 million in funding and that included Google – a first in India. Dunzo soon became a mainstay among a lot us and was used for almost everything – from ordering liquor and cigarettes to sending keys home to ordering medicine. I was once visiting a friend who asked me to purchase something on my way and since there was a lot of traffic (Bangalore and its incessant drizzle), I ordered it on Dunzo. It reached before I did.
However, it was during the pandemic when these services began to shine. Having spent a significant amount of time during the pandemic and lockdown in both Mumbai and Bengaluru and having spent a little time in Chennai, I can’t imagine how life would be without these platforms. Every other day, I’d be down at the gate, waiting for someone from Dunzo, Swiggy or WeFast, either collecting something or sending something. From medicines, a pulse oximeter, beverages, snacks, legal documents to a cake, I’ve made full use of hyper-local services.
A Dunzo partner waiting near Char Bangla Market in Andheri (West). Photo: Srikanth Ramakrishnan/BESTpedia, available on the Wikimedia Commons.
In order to understand how the situation was for these delivery agents, I did what I’ve done with cab drivers, auto drivers and bike taxi drivers in the past – strike up a conversation whenever possible. I also spoke to a few people who work at service providers either in tech or operations.
The first thing that stood out was a complete lack of clarity from various government agencies – federal, state and civic – on restrictions and exceptions. Few cities had a system where people engaged in essential services could apply for an e-pass – remember the Licence Raj? – and even then the guidelines have not been clear since March 2020. In the absence of concrete guidelines, there is bound to be ample scope for confusion and under the current circumstances, this is not a good sign. For instance, in the absence of proper guidelines, there is no clarity on what kind of documentation is to be carried. Many agents carry a letter issued by either the service provider, or by the establishment they are delivering for. At the other end of the spectrum, I have been told by several people that police in a few big cities have hired new recruits to enforce the lockdown. These new recruits, who neither carry a badge nor wear a uniform, often harass these agents, sometimes along with those in uniform. I have heard umpteen stories of delivery agents having the papers snatched from them and being torn up, getting beaten up by law enforcement agencies and of course, having their vehicles seized.
Now, as if this wasn’t enough, a few days ago, police in Hyderabad, Telangana began stopping delivery agents associated with Swiggy, UberEats, Dunzo and Zomato, fining them ₹1,000 and then seizing their vehicles. The reason? Police claims that food delivery cannot be considered essential services!
Police seize vehicles of Zomato,Uber eats,swiggy & Dunzo delivery boys & fined Rs 1000 each in Hyderabad on Saturday nd as per police the vehicles will b released after 5pm, police say's food delivery agents cannot be considerd under essential services. Express video by R V K Rao pic.twitter.com/LvF4Ry2Bmg
Now, there are multiple problems I have with this incident. For starters, who decides what is essential and what is not? If food delivery is not an essential service, why was not mentioned in a government order and why were restaurants allowed to operate? Many people who do not have facilities to cook use food delivery services on a daily basis, and Hyderabad – being one of the largest information technology hubs in the country – sees many a bachelor living in a low-cost housing unit that may or may not have the facilities required to cook. This in turn begs the question – what about the customers who have paid for their order? By going after the delivery agents, customers are essentially being cheated.
Interestingly, it was Hyderabad’s representative to the Lok Sabha Asaduddin Owaisi who pointed out that the government order did include delivery services including food. He also stated that personnel should not be stopped and in the event that the government had made food delivery non-essential, the government order should be amended.
G.O on lockdown in Telangana clearly states that food delivery is permitted. Why are delivery personnel being detained then? They must be released along with their vehicles immediately. These are poor youths trying to get by @TelanganaDGP@cpcybd@CPHydCity@RachakondaCop 1/2 pic.twitter.com/qvWnbESAfW
It is essential that we understand that these delivery agents are frontline workers. They have made life easier for common people by continuing to deliver goods to them while at the same time ensuring that small businesses including stores and restaurants can continue operating, all while risking their own well-being. Given the nature of the work they do, it is impossible for any agent to determine whether they are safe at any time or not. On a single delivery route between the establishment they are delivering for and their destination, there are numerous possibilities of them contracting the virus from anywhere. Unfortunately even the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) doesn’t catergorise them as front line workers.
Several states have gone ahead and announced prioritised vaccination drives for journalists as frontline workers. While this is not a bad move, it should ideally only be a priority for those on ground such as field reports, camera crew and the likes, not those who sit comfortably at home and write op-eds without once stepping out.
Finding a solution to this mess is a very easy one. However, out bureaucratic setup ensures that all easy solutions are done away with and a complicated system that involves permissions from various sundry authorities gets imposed. The easiest way to solve this issue is to remove all requirements of government authorisation. For delivery agents, since they are anyway using an app-based system, a notification on their device should suffice, however since our setup prefers everything on paper, a letter from the service provider they are working for should do. Uniforms should not be mandatory as they can be problematic, as in the case when the Greater Chennai Police found a man delivering marijuana using a Zomato t-shirt.
Governments and government agencies need to stop harassing anyone who steps out during the lockdown. Often, they don’t understand a genuine requirement. Further, some external factors need to be taken care off. Alcohol can no longer be ordered in some states, notably Karnataka – thanks to a stupid High Court order – and Maharashtra – where one requires a permit to posses alcohol. Cigarettes and paan can not be ordered on Android devices but can be on iOS devices because the Google Play store guidelines do not allow purchase of tobacco items. Google Play has a lot of issues, banning items that are legal in India, but that is a tale for another day.
States should seriously consider according frontline worker status to delivery agents, populating a list from service providers and cross checking it with Aadhaar records in order to get them vaccinated on a priority basis. After all, they are keeping the economy running, keeping both agents and shopkeepers employed and ensuring that people stay at home.
The single best example of this is from a tweet that Dunzo put out in April 2020.
If your delivery agent is delayed next time, they’re probably being harassed by government agencies somewhere.
Recommended Reading: The Rise and Rise of the Hyperlocal Delivery Model by Basundhara Choudhary in the May 2021 issue of Logistics Insider. You will need to purchase a copy however. The article talks about different hyperlocal logistics providers including Paytm Mall, Jeena & Co, Shiprocket, BlowHorn, Pidge, Life Care Logistics, among others.
I’d like to thank Yatin for his inputs. I’d also like to thank Rohan Kawley, Mokshda, Aishwarya and Esha for their encouragement.
If you have any feedback, please do leave it in the comments section below.
Since the pandemic is ongoing, please don’t step out without taking proper precautions including a mask and hand sanitizer.
With the ongoing lockdown causing a strain on the finances of public transport operators, the Pune Mahanagar Parivahan Mahamandal Limited (PMPML) is now looking at raising revenue through alternative means. After a well-thought idea to monetise bus stops with shops was ridiculed over flimsy reasons, the corporation is now looking at starting parcel services within its operational region according to a report by the Indian Express.
PMPML chief executive officer Rajendra Jagtap has said that the corporation is exploring new revenue sources to sustain itself. It is looking at running courier services on a revenue sharing basis with a private partner. While PMPML itself will handle the main transportation of goods, the private entity would handle last mile connectivity and loading and unloading of goods within the depots.
Jagtap added that the Corporation’s current fleet of buses can handle the load with a designated space near the rear entry or the driver’s compartment. Parcels will be loaded and unloaded at depots.
PMPML currently covers 300 routes across 1,900km within the Pune Metropolitan Region (PMR) that includes the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) limits, the Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) limits, the Pune Cantonment, Khadki Cantonment and Dehu Road Cantonment limits along with 100 villages and towns in the vicinity. Buses run for 19 hours in a day till midnight, carrying 11 lakh passengers in a day.
In late 2014, I developed a weird interest, one that would continue on for two more years. I started documenting bus tickets and daily passes. I then wrote an article here, documenting only daily passes, updating the article over the next two years with pictures from other cities I had been to. You can read the article here: The Underrated Daily Pass.
Among them, what I realised I was that I did not have a picture of BEST’s punched passes. When BEST switched over to electronic ticketing machines (ETMs) in 2011, they made the complete switch. Unlike other transcos such as BMTC or PMPML which manually issues passes (wither punched from a wad or issued from a booklet), BEST issued daily passes also from the ETM. The only other city that I knew at the time that did this was Hyderabad.
A printed BEST Magic AC Daily Bus Pass from 2015. (Srikanth Ramakrishnan/BESTpedia via Wikimedia Commons)
It took me a while to get this picture because all the daily passes printed at that time had my name and ID number printed on it. Then BEST decided that IDs (smart cards) wouldn’t be required on weekends and holidays and one day I got this.
In January 2015, I put out a tweet asking people if they had the old pass or a picture of it. By 2018, BEST’s electronic ticketing was facing problems with the service provider Trimax IT facing bankruptcy, and BEST went back to punched paper tickets. However, I didn’t get much a chance to buy a pass since many conductors didn’t have them and I mostly used the Metro or Western Railway.
Anyone here who has the old punched Daily Pass issued by BEST in Mumbai? Or a picture of it?
Now what are all these different passes? Well, back in the day, BEST had different passes available. The first pass is valid only on ordinary and limited buses in suburban regions, the second and sixth for ordinary and limited buses all over BEST’s operations’ area, the third is also valid for ordinary and limited buses all over BEST’s areas of operation, the fourth one is valid for all non-AC buses including express buses, and the fifth one is only for ordinary and limited buses in the city region, (SoBo).
Passes valid for the city region are valid upto Rani Laxmi Chowk (Sion Circle) and Mahim. Passes valid for suburban regions are valid north of this barrier (where autos ply). Passes that are valid on all routes are valid everywhere across the MMR where BEST operates including Navi Mumbai, Thane, and Mira-Bhayendar.
This is what the punched BEST Magic Day Pass looks like. Don’t forget to follow Mayuresh on Twitter: @MayureshP2020
If you intend to step out whether you buy a daily pass or not, please wear a mask, carry sanitizer and maintain social distancing.
Featured image: A BEST ticket box clicked in 2015. (Srikanth Ramakrishnan/BESTpedia)
Your next ride in a long distance AC bus in Tamil Nadu might just be different. In a bid to boost ridership and safety of passengers during the ongoing Wuhan Virus pandemic, the State Express Transport Corporation (SETC) of Tamil Nadu has upgraded 20 of its 340 AC buses. According to a report in the Times of India, these 20 buses have been upgraded with air-conditioning units that have multistage air filters, ultraviolet (UV) disinfection systems to prevent viruses and bacteria from entering the bus.
According to the corporation, 200 of its 340 buses were operational during the lockdown with an average occupancy of 65 per cent. Officials at SETC said that they anticipated additional demand for AC buses during the summer and that many passengers were still skeptical about traveling in AC buses due to the spread of the Wuhan Virus. A private partner was approached for a pilot project in 20 buses. The air filters, each costing ₹40,000 have been installed atop the existing air-conditioning units of the bus.
Officials added that the UV sterlisation destroys micro-organisms that enter, while a filter mesh and photocatalyst absorb larger micro-organisms. The fresh air mechanism ensures that stale air within the bus is not circulated, thus also reducing travel fatigue. An air quality index (AQI) monitor is installed near the driver cabin to measure the AQI in the bus. Results from the trial runs showed that after 25 minutes of operation, AQI went down from 759 micro-organisms per cubic metre to 33.
With the ongoing pandemic, this looks like a fantastic method to reduce transmission of the virus in public transport while also ensuring a smooth and comfortable drive. Tamil Nadu’s chief minister Edappadidi K Palaniswami has so far done a splendid job of handling the pandemic and not allowing India’s most urbanised state to become like Uddhav Thackeray-ruled Maharashtra. EPS has also done a lot for public transport and infrastructure for the state over the last four years. Do keep this in mind when Tamil Nadu goes to polls on 6 April.
It seems the days of TNSTC and SETC being the best transcos in India are back.
Featured image: New SETC AC buses by Vinoth Thambidurai (VOMMspotter).
When you head out to vote for the AIADMK-PMK-BJP alliance on 6th, please remember to wear a mask, carry hand sanitizer and maintain social distancing.
Thanks to the Wuhan Virus pandemic, the last one year has been bad for public transport. This has been problematic especially in larger cities such as Mumbai and Chennai. However, Chennai went a step ahead of other cities by installing something as elementary as hand sanitizer dispensers on all buses operated by the Metropolitan Transport Corporation (MTC).
Below is a picture that I clicked in January this year. At many places, conductors were insistent that people enter only thru the read door and sanitize their hands before purchasing a ticket. At Vadapalani bus station, several conductors even refused to let passengers board if they weren’t wearing masks or didn’t sanitize their hands.
Hand Sanitizer dispenser inside an MTC bus (Srikanth Ramakrishnan/BESTpedia)
While Tamil Nadu ranks second among deaths and fifth among total cases, one must remember that it is the most urbanised among India’s states (not counting Goa or Sikkim) with 48.15% of its population living in urban clusters. Kerala comes in second with Maharashtra with 47.7% and 45.2% respectively. These two states have meanwhile seen 1.14 million and 3.01 million total cases and nearly 5,000 and 56,000 deaths respectively as opposed to Tamil Nadu with 9 lakh total cases and 12,700 deaths. A special round of applause for Dr Beela Rajesh who served as the state’s health secretary from February 2019 to June 2020.
Tamil Nadu has done really well in its fight against the Wuhan Virus and one has to thank chief minister Edappadi K Palaniswami for that. The state goes to polls on 6 April and I hope people remember EPS’ role in tackling the virus when they cast their votes.
Hand sanitizers in buses. Now why didn’t anyone else think of that?
Featured Image: MTC Tata Bharat Stage IV buses. Image Credits: Vinoth Thambidurai (VOMMspotter)
When you head out to vote for the AIADMK-PMK-BJP alliance on 6th, please remember to wear a mask, carry hand sanitizer and maintain social distancing.
As part of the mini-lockdown in Maharashtra which is right now turning into India’s Hubei/New York/California, BEST has announced that starting today (5 April 2021), no standees will be permitted in a bus (a bus will only carry as many passengers as it has seats). However, BEST has not made it clear as to whether social distancing norms will apply as had been the case with Mission Begin Again in June 2020.
Important updates NO STANDEES will be permitted in BEST buses and MSRTC buses operated on BEST routes . NO MASK NO ENTRY w.e.f. 05.04.2021 #bestupdates
Along with this, BEST has also made it mandatory for all passengers to wear masks. Passengers not wearing masks will not be allowed to board buses. One just hopes that the frequency of buses is increased.
Maharashtra under the Sena-NCP-INC government has mishandled the pandemic very badly with 55,000 deaths in the state. No other state comes anywhere close to it. Over the last year, multiple leftists and media propagandists have praised the CM for his handling of the pandemic much like Governor of New York Andrew Cuomo and Governor of California Gavin Newsom have. Both these states are the worst hit in the United States.
If you’re venturing out, please wear a mask and carry sanitiser with you:
