Category: PMPML

PMPML Converts Old Bus To High-Pressure Cleaning System For BRTS Bus Stops

In a bid to automate and mechanise certain functions while putting older buses of the fleet to better use, the Pune Mahanagar Parivahan Mahamandal Limited (PMPML) has converted an old bus into a moving high-pressure cleaning system.

Bus stations of the Corporation’s Rainbow bus rapid transit system (Rainbow BRTS) were earlier cleaned manually by sweeping them. The plan to to change the process was initiated by Babasaheb Mulani, a bench fitter from the Pimpri Depot under the guidance of depot manager Bhaskar Dahatonde and DME Rajkumar Mane.

The vehicle was used to clean BRTS shelters in Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad during the ongoing G20 summit.

PMPML shared a video explaining the new system to their social media accounts. Below is the video from their Youtube channel and the wonderful caption from their Instagram account.

Innovative BRT Bus stop cleaning system by PMPML
Until date BRT bus stops of PMPML were majorly cleaned using normal mechanisms like sweeping, but to thoroughly clean every corner of a bus stop PMPML came up with an idea to convert an old bus into a moving high pressure cleaning system.

Due to resolute efforts from Babasaheb Mulani (Bench Fitter) under the guidance of Bhaskar Dahatonde (Pimpri Depot Manager) and Rajkumar Mane (DME) this idea came into existence and was successfully executed.

As the cleaning performance of this innovation was excellent, this bus was also sent to clean BRT bus stops and routes during the G20 Summit.

PMPML heartily appreciates this innovative creation and ideation by our employees.

पीएमपीएमएलचे बीआरटी बस थांबे सध्यापर्यंत फक्त झाडून साफ केले जात होते, परंतु बसस्थानकाचा प्रत्येक कोपरा पूर्णपणे स्वच्छ करण्यासाठी पीएमपीएमएलमधील कर्मचाऱ्यांना जुन्या बसला चालत्या फिरत्या उच्च दाबाच्या स्वछता प्रणालीमध्ये रूपांतरित करण्याची कल्पना सुचली.

हि कल्पना सत्यात उतरविण्यासाठी पिंपरी आगाराचे आगार व्यवस्थापक भास्कर दहातोंडे व पिंपरी आगार अभियंता राजकुमार माने यांच्या मार्गदर्शनाखाली बेंच फिटर बाबासाहेब मुलाणी यांनी आटोकाट प्रयत्न करून टाकाऊ साहित्या पासून सर्व्हिस व्हॅन मध्ये ‘फिरते वॉशिंग सेंटर’ तयार केले व त्याचे यशस्वी प्रात्यक्षिक घेतले.

या प्रणालीच्या अत्यंत उत्कृष्ट कामगिरीमुळे जी२० परिषदेदरम्यान बीआरटी बस थांबे व मार्गांची स्वछता करण्यासाठी या यंत्रणेचा वापर करण्यात आला.

आमच्या कर्मचार्‍यांच्या या नाविन्यपूर्ण निर्मितीचे आणि कल्पनेचे पीएमपीएमएलतर्फे मनस्वी अभिनंदन.
PMPML

The vehicle is fitted with a 1 horsepower (1 HP) motor, a 2,000 litre Sintex tank and a service pipe. The bus is then driven to the bus stop and pressure washed.

According to Shri Mulani, Dahatonde, and Mane, the plan is convert older buses of the depot to such cleaning vehicles and use it to keep bus stops across the twin cities clean. A trial was conducted at the Akurdi BRTS stop. Passengers too appreciated the clean bus stop.

The rear of the PMPML Washing Service Van of the Pimpri Depot (Screengrab from PMPML's video)
The rear of the PMPML Washing Service Van of the Pimpri Depot (Screengrab from PMPML’s video)

Truly a good time to say, What an Idea, sirjee!

Note: These buses are the same buses that I had referred to as Udaan Khatara in 2015. You can read more about how the PMPML cleaned up its act here: Buses in Pune: How the PMPML managed to clean up its act

Also Read: As Transit Fans Celebrate Ashwini Bhide’s Return, Let Us Not Forget Shrikar Paradeshi, Who Turned Around PMPML’s Fortunes

Featured Image: The PMPML Washing Service Van of the Pimpri Depot (Screengrab from PMPML’s video)

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As Transit Fans Celebrate Ashwini Bhide’s Return, Let Us Not Forget Shrikar Paradeshi, Who Turned Around PMPML’s Fortunes

Transit fans of Maharashtra in the last one week have been celebrating for multiple reasons. The first was the obvious one, with former Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis returning to power, although some of us (me included) are disappointed that he’s Deputy CM and not the CM. The second, was the return of Ashwini Bhide to the Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation Limited (MMRCL), as well as the government’s focus on finishing the project with the depot at the Aarey Milk Colony (it’s not a forest). While the Eknath Shinde-Devendra Fadnavis government has also cleared all hurdles for the Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed Rail (MAHSR) corridor, another small but significant development has gone unchanged.

Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer Dr Shrikar Paradeshi has been appointed as a Secretary to the Deputy CM’s office.

Who is Dr Shrikar Paradeshi?

A 2001-batch IAS officer, Shrikar Paradeshi has held numerous posts in the past. He was the Municipal Commissioner of the Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corportation from 2012 to 2014 where he earned the nickname ‘Demolition Man‘ for razing down illegally-constructed structures. He was also briefly the managing director (MD) of the Pune Mahanagar Parivahan Mahamandal Limited (PMPML). During his tenure at PCMC, he introduced Sarathi — (System of Assisting Residents and Tourists through Helpline Information). However, he proved to be too efficient, leading to his transfer to the State Inspector General of Registration and Controller of Stamps by the then Prithviraj Chavan-led government.

Paradeshi was subsequently appointed MD of PMPML again before he was transferred to the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO). Post this, he did his master’s in public administration from Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and was then posted as MD of Maharashtra-based SICOM for a month in 2021. Post this, he went to Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland to do a master’s in public health.

Dr Paradeshi and the PMPML

Dr Paradeshi’s first stint in the PMPML was in July 2013 when he took two key decisions. The first was to rationalise all bus fares into multiples of ₹5 in order to plug revenue leakages and solve the issue of spare change. He focused on repairing buses and had officials visit different bus depots to ensure that buses departed on time.

His second innings with the PMPML began in December 2014 after eight NGOs approached chief minister Fadnavis with a demand for a “competent and result-oriented” IAS officer to lead the organisation. After taking charge, he began the process of getting the city’s bus fleet fully operational. There were around 160 buses that were lying in various depots that required repairs but weren’t, for want of funds. He had the PMPML set up a separate bank account that would deposit 6 per cent of daily revenues which would go towards repairing buses and managed to get to improve the functional fleet from 60 per cent to 75 per cent in three months.

In a public interaction, he stated his plans to set up a new website, proposed a mobile app and announced goals and targets for revenue collections, passengers and even advertisements.

Sadly, he ended up getting called to the Prime Minister’s office in April 2015.

If you are stepping out, do note that while masks are no longer mandatory, please stay safe, better safe than sorry.

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After BEST And NMMT, Pune Now Wants To Experiment With Electric Double-Deckers

A week after BEST announced plans to procure 800 double-decker buses and NMMT announced its intentions to begin trials, the Pune Mahanagar Parivahan Mahamandal Limited (PMPML) has announced its interest in the same.

Double-deckers were first operated in Pune in 1984 and were taken off the roads in 1995 due to operating costs and and accidents. I’m not sure if it was the Pune Municipal Transport (PMT) or Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Transport (PCMT) that operated them. At least six routes were operated on the Mumbai-Pune Road.

PMPML officials have stated that they have met with manufacturers of electric buses on the matter and keen on pursuing it due to chief minister Uddhav Thackeray’s alleged interest in double-decker buses.

The Corporation is looking at procuring buses on a wet-lease model, similar to BEST, while it will provide the required infrastructure for it. However, they have also agreed that operating double-decker buses isn’t an easy task and would require significant planning, particularly in the routes.

Note: After a little digging, I found more information. The double-deckers run earlier were operated by the PMT and not the PCMT. According to a DNA report, PMPML originally considered bringing back double-decker buses to the fleet in late 2014, however the proposal did not move forward much. The criteria for re-induction of these buses was due to wider roads and increased congestion.

Another proposal was mooted in 2017, this time in electric form. It had the backing of both the BJP-led PMC and PCMC along with the backing of then Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and the Central Government.

Let’s hope PMPML is successful with its double-decker plans. The city currently has India’s largest fleet of electric buses.

Featured Image: Alexander Dennis-BYD Enviro400 EV

P.S: If you’re buying a car, don’t buy a Hyundai or Kia. You can read more why over here: Hyundai India blocks netizens after they question whether they endorse their Pakistani counterpart’s views on Kashmir

If you are stepping out, make sure you wear a mask, follow COVID-appropriate behavior and keep your hands sanitised at all times. Maharashtra is still the top state by total cases and deaths.

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PMPML Gets Digital Screens Inside Bus For Advertisements To Boost Revenue

After exploring several avenues to boost revenues, loss-making Pune Mahanagar Parivahan Mahamandal Limited (PMPML) has decided to implement one more method. The Corporation has decided to install digital screens for advertisements inside buses.

This method was earlier pioneered by the Brihanmumbai Electricity Supply and Transport (BEST) undertaking in Mumbai in the late 2007s. BEST buses had closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras positioned at the entrance and exit of buses and two screens at the front of the bus that alternated between footage from the cameras and advertisements. Anyone who took a BEST bus in 2007-2008 would remember trailers of Jimmy, the debut film of Mithun Chakraborty’s son Mimoh. It kept appearing every two minutes and was really annoying.

Below is an image of the new display inside a PMPML bus, shared on Twitter by Devesh Shah.

This can be a good revenue booster for PMPML, which is currently in dire straits. As per a news report from July, the corporation is expecting its losses to touch ₹9,600 crore in the next ten years.

PMPML has been looking at different avenues of monetising its available assets over the last year but many of its efforts have faced a lot of flak. The most critical response was to a plan in March where it was proposed to set up bus shelters with a small-shop attached to it. Many activists and the usual suspect Pune Mirror heaped unwarranted criticism over the move claiming it would attract paan-bidi shops and inconvenience passengers without a shred of evidence.

Also Read: PMPML Gets Flak For Brilliant Plans To Monetise Network With Shops At Bus Stops

Subsequently PMPML began looking for other avenues, including starting parcel services and redeveloping its depots as commercial spaces.

The plan to set up digital displays may bode well for the corporation. A Business Standard report from 2013 said that BEST was charging advertisers a mere ₹9,300 for a 10 second advert on displays across its fleet. Should PMPML equip all the buses in its fleet with displays, it can earn a significant amount. It can also make use of the displays present at its Rainbow BRTS stations.

Let’s hope PMPML succeeds this time. Video ads inside a bus may not be such a bad deal after all.

Also Read: Dear Activists, Profit In Public Transport Is Important To Get People To Give Up Their Cars

Featured Image: Digital Advertisement Display In A PMPML Bus By Devesh Shah on Twitter

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Meet Punyadasham, Pune’s New AC Bus Service

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.

In an article titled Bus, 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.

You can read about the PMPML’s earlier attempts to rationalise services using their ATAL and ABHI plans here: Colour-Coded Buses To Identify 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.

Featured Image: Punyadasham Bus tweeted by Buses of Pune on Twitter.

If you intend to step out please wear a mask, carry sanitizer and maintain social distancing.

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PMPML Plans To Develop 30 Depots As Part Of Modernisation Programme

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.

Also Read: From Parivahan To Postman, PMPML Looks At Starting Parcel Services To Overcome Cash Crunch

Also Read: PMPML Gets Flak For Brilliant Plans To Monetise Network With Shops At Bus Stops

If you intend to step out please wear a mask, carry sanitizer and maintain social distancing.

Featured Image: Buses at Market Yard Depot in 2015 (Srikanth Ramakrishnan/Wikimedia Commons)

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From Parivahan To Postman, PMPML Looks At Starting Parcel Services To Overcome Cash Crunch

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.

Let’s hope this plan gets delivered soon!

Also Read: PMPML Gets Flak For Brilliant Plans To Monetise Network With Shops At Bus Stops

Featured image: PMPML buses at the Workshop (Rajendra Jagtap/Facebook)

If you intend to step out please wear a mask, carry sanitizer and maintain social distancing.

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PMPML Gets Flak For Brilliant Plans To Monetise Network With Shops At Bus Stops

Last week, the Pune Mahanagar Parivahan Mahamandal Limited (PMPML) launched a tender worth ₹45 crore under the Smart Cities Mission to set up 1,500 smart bus stops which included a 5x5x7 feet shop and kiosk. According officials of the corporation, the aim of this plan is to monetise bus stops, which makes sense given that the PMPML is currently sitting with a financial deficit of ₹600 crores.

However, the move has not gone down with certain people. Various groups including women’s organisations and others (interestingly described as ‘sundry’ by Pune Mirror in its not-so-neutral report) are opposing the move on rather flimsy grounds. They claim that the stalls will attract paan, bidi, gutka and cigarette shops which in turn will invite loiterers who might cause an inconvenience to female commuters. They have demanded that the corporation junk the plan and look at advertising and corporate social responsibility (CSR).

While advertising is lucrative, it’s scope is limited. As for CSR, the lesser said, the better. Now, the important question is, why is this move important. PMPML wants to implement these new bus shelters on all the bus rapid transit system (BRTS; also known as Rainbow) corridors as well as on major prime routes. It requires a total of 4,200 shelters across Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad, and currently has only 1,996 shelters and that figure includes 749 stainless steel shelters (similar to the ones in Mumbai) and 110 BRTS shelters.

The argument that this move will only attract paan-bidi stalls is an assumption. So far, no bus station (except maybe a few in scattered rural parts of India) has a paan-bidi or gutka stall on its premises. The same goes for metro stations. Along with this comes a question: Which paan-bidi stall will go thru a government bidding process to set up a stall when the proprietor can easily set up a stall elsewhere. Next point: Most such stalls are invariably located next to our just outside a restaurant or a bar, often attached to them but accessible from the outside. That’s where the business comes. People go there after drinking or eating. Why would they come to a bus stop if the profit motive is limited?

Going forward that this opposition is based on an assumption, let us review some precedents.

In 2015, the Ahmedabad Janmarg Limited (AJL), facing increasing losses decided to start renting out space to banks to set up ATMs. Then, it went a step further and approved a plan to set up a tea stall that would sell refreshments and soft drinks at Maninagar and Nehrunagar Janmarg stations. Of course it is important to note that AJL uses off-board ticketing using AFC gates, much like a metro rail system. The PMPML meanwhile does not have such a system in place for the BRTS. The onus on ensuring that the shops are rented out to the right people lies on the PMPML, but having said that, they would not be stupid enough to rent them out to paan shops.

Taking a leaf out of metro systems’ books across the country; many of them have turned to non-fare revenue to offset losses. This includes auctioning off naming rights of stations, something not feasible for bus stops, advertising on the bus shelters and of course, retailing. This is not just limited to India, it is seen globally at various metro systems across. The largest success stories of this are in Delhi, Mumbai and of course Chennai.

If people are concerned with the size of the shop, that’s the size of many shops on the Mumbai Metro and even the Chennai Metro. The Jai Shree Radhe Soda Pub on the Mumbai Metro and Tibbs Frankie outlet on the Chennai Metro are just slightly larger than the size prescribed by the PMPML. But if the AJL could successfully have done it, why not Pune?

With a burgeoning debt that the corporation is sitting on, non-fare revenue is a great way to ease the burden. Opposing good plans with flimsy excuses, not so good.

Featured Image: An old makeshift PMPML bus stop sign from 2015.

If you’re venturing out, please wear a mask and carry sanitiser with you:

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Pune’s Electric Buses Make Their Way To Hubballi-Dharwad For BRTS Trials

For the last decade, Karnataka has been among the most proactive states in India when it came to acquiring new buses. The state was among the largest beneficiaries under the UPA government’s sham JnNURM and is continues to be so under the Modi sarkar’s FAME scheme for electric buses.

The second urban agglomeration in Karnataka, comprising the twin cities of Hubballi and Dharwad in the northern reaches of the state is the only city in the state with a functional bus rapid transit system (BRTS). The 22 km long HDBRTS connects the two cities and uses a fleet of 100 custom-built purple Chigari buses built by Volvo AB’s subsidiary UD Trucks. (I had posted a picture of a UD bus on trial with BMTC in my last post.)

On Thursday, 10 December, Kishan Rajput reporting for the Times of India tweeted out a picture of an Olectra eBuzz K9 belonging to the Pune Smart City Development Corporation Limited (PSCDCL) and operated by the PMPML with a notice that it was on trial with the Hubli Dharwad Company Limited.

While many cities make use of Olectra’s eBuzz series, PMPML’s fleet, consisting of both the the 9m long K7 and the 12m long K9 are all equipped with right-hand-side doors for use on a BRT system.

While I’m not sure about UD buses, Volvo AB sold its bus business in India to VE Commercial Vehicles, a joint venture between Volvo and Eicher. It seems that BYD and Olectra are here to stay. I’d like to see more Tata and Ashok Leyland buses though, the latter of which are running on the streets of Chennai.

Apart from this, Olectra will also supply 30 buses to Dehradun, 150 to Surat and another 25 to Silvassa. Let’s hope the EV fever reaches Hubli-Dharwad soon!

That’s all from me this time.

Featured image: Volvo UD Chigari Bus on the Hubli Dharwad BRTS (Hubli Dharwad Infra on Twitter)

Also; Did You Know CoEP Has A PG Diploma In Metro Rail Tech And Electric Mobility?

If you intend on stepping out, don’t forget the basics: A mask and sanitizer.

           

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PMPML: Colour-Coded Buses To Identify Routes

In order to make commuting easier, the Pune Mahanagar Parivahan Mahamandal Limited (PMPML) has decided to adopt a new colour-coded system of buses. Named CARISMA (Colour Coding All Routes To Identify Simplify Maps And App), the plan involves using 15 colours to help commuters identify bus routes, with 207 routes being covered in the first phase.

Planned on the lines of colour-coded lines of the London Underground (or Tube) operated by Transport for London (TfL), the colours of the bus will be displayed prominently on the front and rear of the bus so passengers can identify the route. Bus stops will be provided with a route chart of the colour-codes to help passengers get used to the new system.

Along with the colours, PMPML also plans to implement a QR code plan. A QR code at the bus stop will provide details of all buses that pass through that stop while a QR code inside the bus will provide details on the bus route and their stops. Live tracking of buses will be a prominent feature of the QR codes.

PMPML Chairman and Managing Director Rajendra Jagtap shared a video of the CARISMA would work on Facebook. Do take a look here:

The first two services launched as part of this new scheme are the ATAL and ABHI series. It seems that PMPML is looking to give Vice President Venkaiah Naidu a run for his money when it comes to acronyms. ATAL stands for Aligning Transit on All Lanes and ABHI stands for Airport Bus for business, home and hotel connectivity.

Under ATAL, buses will run for 5 km with a flat fare of ₹5 with a frequency of 5 minutes. They were initially launched in the Pimpri Chinchwad region on nine routes and later on expanded to several other regions near Pune Railway Station. Some of the ATAL routes operate using PMPML’s lesser known fleet of Force Motors’ Minibuses. Here is picture of these minibuses that was inducted in 2017.

The distance of ATAL buses is capped at a maximum of 6 km as per Jagtap and in future will be used as a model for feeder buses for MahaMetro services. Taking in feedback from passengers, drivers, conductors and also ticket sales from ETMs, PMPML will expand the services more.

The ABHI bus series was launched using the corporation’s electric bus fleet. This fleet, comprising of 43 Olectra-BYD’s K7 and K9 buses were procured by the Pune Smart City Development Corporation Limited (PSCDCL) under the Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s flagship Smart Cities Mission and were originally flagged off in 2019 by former Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. Routes will be numbered starting with A (A-1 to A-5) for now with a minimum fare of ₹50 and a maximum fare of ₹180. Buses will stop at major establishments such as hotels and hospitals en route. WiFi and flight information will also be available for passengers on the bus.

ATAL buses will be coded in orange while ABHI buses will be coded in pink.

That’s all from me for now. I look forward to boarding one of these buses on my next trip to Pune.

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Also, whether you are travelling on a ATAL or ABHI, don’t forget to wear a mask and carry sanitizer. And if you are flying, do wear a face shield.

Featured image: ATAL bus belonging to the Swargate Depot (Rajendra Jagtap/Facebook)

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