Over 2 crore drop in ridership in 2024-25 hits PMPML hard

The decline has been attributed to poorly maintained buses, inadequate facilities, and increasing preference for Metro

- Dheeraj Bengrut

PUNE: Pune Mahanagar Parivahan Mahamandal Limited (PMPML) has witnessed a sharp fall of over 2.25 crore commuters in the financial year 2024-25 as compared to the previous year, leading to a revenue loss of ₹47 crore.

The decline in ridership has been attributed to poorly maintained buses, inadequate passenger facilities, and increasing preference for Metro services on long routes.

There has been a steady drop in daily commuters which has severely impacted the public transport body's finances. PMPML, which operates around 1,700 buses across Pune, Pimpri-Chinchwad and the Pune Metropolitan Region (PMR), has been struggling with operational losses over the years. Despite efforts to cut operational costs and boost earnings, PMPML's monthly revenue has failed to cross ₹50 crore in 11 out of the 12 months in FY 2024-25. Collections have touched ₹57 crore only in August 2024 whereas in the financial year 2023-24, revenue crossed ₹50 crore in seven out of 12 months.