The Times of India 03.08.2013
PMPML approves new fare structure aims to solve shortchange issue
PUNE: The board of directors of PMPML, the city transport undertaking, approved a proposal on Friday to rationalize fares. Commuters will now have to pay fares in multiples of five (Rs 5, Rs 10, Rs 15 and so on), based on the distance.
The revision will come into effect after the fare structure is approved by the regional transport authority.
Pimpri Chinchwad municipal commissioner Shrikar Pardeshi, who is on the board of directors, said that the proposal had been mooted a few months back and has been discussed in past meetings. It was finally approved on Friday.
"The fares will be rounded off to the nearest multiple of Rs 5. The revised fare structure will ensure that more number of tickets are issued and that passengers are not shortchanged," Pardeshi said.
PMPML's joint managing director Pravin Ashtikar echoed his views and said the revised structure would solve problems faced by both commuters and conductors.
The board of directors also approved the PMPML establishment plan wherein several suggestions have been made for infrastructure facilities, human resources, creation of new posts, eligibility criteria for various posts, salary structure, promotions, and incentives.
Ashtikar said that PMPML was formed in 2007 after the merger of erstwhile Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Transport undertakings. However, there was no establishment plan for the newly formed transport company. The new establishment plan takes into account that PMPML requires 18 bus depots, as opposed to the ten depots at present, he said.
According to PMPML officials, the establishment plan proposes one bus depot for 100 buses. At present, PMPML has 1800 buses. The plan also suggests that mini buses should be run in congested areas of the city.
The bus depots will have better maintenance facilities which will ensure that maximum number of buses are on the roads. The depot managers and new zonal managers will be able to examine the financial performance on every route.
The plan advocates decentralization of work to achieve maximum performance in all depots - some of the work will be outsourced.
As per the plan, the accident, breakdown and public complaints departments and headquarters will be merged into a single department to ensure that all units simultaneously receive information about breakdowns or accidents.
The report on the establishment plan was prepared by PMC standing committee chairman Vishal Tambe, PCMC standing committee chairman Navnath Jagtap and PMPML's labour welfare officer Deepaksingh Pardeshi.
