DTA soon to hike bus fare, make electronic metre for autos compulsory

The district transport authority (DTA) on Tuesday decided to hike the fare of buses run by Pune Mahanagar Parivahan Mahamandal Limited (PMPML) by 0.50 paise per kilometer.

The DTA also decided to make electronic meters compulsory for auto-rickshaws in Pune till April 30 and warned of actions against drivers who fail to install the metres.

The meeting, chaired by district collector Vikas Deshmukh, was attended by members from PMPML, Regional Transport Office (RTO), traffic police among others.

Speaking on the decision to raise fare, Deshmukh stated that it was decided to increase the bus fare. Every 2 km constitutes a stage and thus every stage would see a fare rise of Re 1. "The first 2 km, ie the first stage, has been spared from the fare hike," he said. The transport body is set to raise Rs 13 lakh per day as means of revenue through this fare rise, of which Rs 9 lakh would be from sale of tickets and Rs 4 lakh from sale of passes.

The fare hike would be implemented from the midnight of Tuesday. Monthly passes for travelling outside Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Limits would go up from Rs 1,200 to Rs 1,500. Cost of daily passes for senior citizens have been increased from Rs 30 to Rs 40 while the cost of weekly passes have been increased from Rs 300 to Rs 350.

The fares of Pune Darshan bus, the official tourism bus of the PMPML has also been raised with tickets for air-conditioned buses to now cost Rs 350 and non-air-condition Rs 300.

The DTA has also made it compulsory for auto-rickshaws plying in the city to install electronic meters by April 30. "Action by means of Rs 2,000 and suspension of license for 15 days would be clamped on auto-drivers who fail to install the electronic meters," said Deshmukh.

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