A City on Hold: Pune’s Transport Woes

A City on Hold: Pune’s Transport Woes

Nitya Kakade

FY B.Sc. (2024-2028)

Estimated reading time: 5 minutes

Pune’s population has seen exponential growth over the last few decades. However, the public infrastructure has not been able to keep up. The biggest example of this is Pune’s public transport system. With overcrowded buses, infrequent schedules and limited metro coverage, Pune’s transport network is struggling under the weight of its demand.

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Public transport is a classic example of a public good – non-excludable and non-rivalrous, meaning one cannot prevent others from using it, and more than one person can use it at a time. It is meant to be universally accessible and efficient, yet in Pune, it fails to deliver on these ideals. The city is faced with a shortage of buses. This results in overcrowding, making travel uncomfortable for passengers. Alongside this, the buses are infrequent and people are forced to wait long hours to catch the bus. If the commuter is in a hurry, they are forced to shell out much more money for rickshaws or taxis.

For those who have to travel to the other side of the city, its inefficiency costs them a significant portion of their day. It takes about ninety minutes to two hours to travel in one direction. This lengthy commute reduces time available for productive work and personal activities, adding to increasing stress and fatigue. The cumulative effect can limit economic opportunities, both for individuals and the city, as a large amount of time is spent by individuals in transit.

Low-income individuals are disproportionately affected by these problems because they have no other option than to use public transport. For many, the lack of transport facilities may mean they have to give up lucrative offers in a different part of the city. A person who relies on public transport may have limited job opportunities, especially those that are located far from their homes or requiring specific schedules. In essence, this issue further contributes to income inequality by hindering opportunities and economic mobility for the poorer masses.

The problem with Pune’s buses does not just trouble individuals; it has much greater implications for the city. Because the transport system is unreliable, most people choose to drive their own private vehicles. An increase in the number of vehicles causes a variety of problems. The most obvious is traffic congestion, which leads to still very long wait times on the road paired with the charges for regularly filling fuel. In fact, Pune is the seventh most congested city in the world. This also causes a rise in levels of pollution and consequently a rise in lung issues due to poor air quality – something that affects every citizen regardless of their preferred mode of transport, adding to healthcare expenses. Pune emits an average of 1007 kg of CO2 annually, with 265 kg being attributed to only congestion. The deficient public transport system and rising number of private vehicles directly contribute to this scenario.

While the new metro is significantly more comfortable for passengers than buses, it has its own issues. The first metro route to be built was from Garware to Vanaz. This route may have been simpler to build because it has less traffic than other areas as it created less of an obstruction – but conversely, the lack of traffic along this route also meant low revenue for the PMC once the initial enthusiasm about a new metro had dwindled. After its inauguration, 20 lakh passengers rode the Pune metro in August, generating an income of Rs 3.07 crores. But the number of passengers kept falling and reached 14 lakhs by November, the income dropping to just Rs 2.20 crores. Ridership started increasing only when the first phase was completed. While the rise in revenue makes sense after the completion of the project, it raises the question whether the metro would have been even more effective if it had been built on other routes like the highway first. If the objective of the metro is to introduce a fast and efficient means of transport, it is natural to assume that these routes are supposed to reduce traffic on the roads. Yet the metro has been planned in such a way that it will not noticeably reduce traffic until quite a few more routes have been opened, and that may take years.

Just as necessary as the development of new infrastructure is the maintenance of existing resources. In the past year, over 200 buses stopped running since they crossed 12 years of age. 650 buses were supposed to enter the fleet by 2021, but as of yet 177 of these have still not arrived. While the PMPML has decided to add 700 new buses by December this year, looking at the past example it is difficult to tell how many of those will be available for public use. Adding to the insufficiency of buses, Pune’s existing buses often break down in the middle of the roads. In fact, the number of bus breakdowns has gone up by 30% this monsoon from the same period last year. When this occurs, passengers are forced to leave the bus midway to their destination and look for another mode of transport – again, something not everyone can afford.

The new electric buses, while attractive, are not efficiently designed. The interior is built such that there are not enough seats and also not enough handles to hold on to where passengers stand. The AC might be refreshing when the bus is empty, but in a crowd the closed windows are suffocating and make the conditions even worse than in a crowded non-AC bus. All things considered, the new fleet of the PMPML has made the situation worse.

As the city continues to expand, the need for a public transport system that can keep up with its rapid growth is more urgent than ever. Pune needs to take inspiration from Delhi, a city with one of the most efficient public transport systems in India, with comprehensive road coverage and point-to-point connectivity. Investing in reliable and efficient transport infrastructure is no longer just an option but a necessity if the city hopes to maintain quality of life, reduce traffic, and ensure sustainable urban development.