PUNE: One of the major reasons for the chaotic traffic conditions at
the Keshavrao Jedhe chowk at Swargate is lack of proper facilities for
over three lakh local bus passengers who reach the junction every day.

Five roads converge
at the chowk which is home to two bus stations – one for the local
public transport and the other for outbound buses – and the starting
point of two corridors of the bus rapid transit system (one towards
Hadapsar and the other towards Katraj).

The multitudes of
passengers who reach the junction every day are faced with total
confusion amidst heavy movement of traffic. Besides risking their lives
while crossing the road in the absence of pedestrian facilities,
citizens are beset with problems of lack of basic passenger facilities
and information services as well as badly designed BRTS bus stops.

On any given day, local bus passengers can be seen standing on the
roads and waiting for their buses to arrive. The bus stops lack boards
displaying information about bus routes and final destinations. As a
result passengers can be seen running helter-skelter just to find out
about buses they can take to their destinations. Amid the walking,
running and crossing the road, is the continuous heavy traffic flow
especially on the Swargate-Katraj stretch. Also, since the platforms of
the BRTS bus stops are considerably higher, many people avoid standing on the platform, joining the thousands spilling out on to the roads.

Bus passenger Uttam Kakde said that people avoid standing at the bus
shelters because drivers of the PMPML buses stop anywhere and citizens
have to make a run for it. “The LED boards at the stops don’t work and
do not display any information about the routes. Though waiting at the
bus shelter is definitely safer, that way people will miss their bus.”

Another passenger who had just arrived from Nagpur said he was running
from one location to another just to find out which bus would take him
to Sangamwadi and where he could board it from.

A bus passenger,
Baban Aswale, said that some discipline should also be followed by
people themselves. “Instead of crowding around the entrance of a bus and
everybody trying to enter at the same time, citizens could wait at the
bus stop and board the bus in a queue. The system in Mumbai is good and
it should be followed in Pune as well. Also, the PMPML needs to create
proper facilities for passengers.”

Citizens also said that
encroachments should be removed from near the bus stops and proper
autorickshaw stands be provided so that people can move about safely and
reach their destinations quickly. Another problem noticed at the
junction is that there are no pedestrian facilities to reach the bus
stops. Such facilities are needed because many people walk along the
road to reach the MSRTC bus terminus or autorickshaws.

PMPML
officials claimed that although they have appointed its staff to
supervise the movement of buses and to direct the passengers, the
situation goes out of hand because of the sheer rush of people. “About
three to four buses arrive at the bus stop at a time. There is a huge
rush of people and the problem increases during the peak hours. We will
take steps to put up destination boards and a proper passenger
information system,” said a PMPML official.

A Pune Municipal Corporation official said a subway
has been planned for people to walk from the BRTS bus stop to the MSRTC
bus terminal. The work, however, will be completed in about two years.