Pune: The Pune Mahanagar Parivahan Mahamandal Limited (PMPML) is facing severe financial distress, with losses skyrocketing to ₹766 crore. Despite being the primary public transport provider for Pune, Pimpri-Chinchwad, and PMRDA, PMPML is struggling due to high operational costs, declining revenue, and increasing expenses.
PMPML buses cover 3.6 lakh kilometers daily, but while the operational cost per kilometer is ₹114, revenue per kilometer is only ₹53, resulting in a loss of ₹61 per kilometer.
Loss in the last 11 years: Increased sevenfold from ₹99 crore to ₹766 crore.
Current passenger revenue: ₹1.5 crore per day.
Annual financial loss: ₹40 crore increase in the current fiscal year alone.
Only One Profitable Route Among 472
PMPML operates 472 routes, but only one route generates profit. The biggest losses occur on routes spanning 21 to 30 kilometers, where 88 routes contribute to an annual loss of ₹282 crore.
Reasons Behind the Financial Crisis
No increase in ticket and pass fares
Decline in passenger numbers
Frequent breakdowns of aging buses
High operational expenses exceeding revenue from services and advertisements
Seventh Pay Commission salary hike for 11,000 employees
High rental costs for contractor-operated buses
PMPML to Get 1,000 New Buses
To improve public transport, 1,000 new CNG buses will be added to the PMPML fleet.
PMRDA will provide 500 buses.
Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad municipal corporations will jointly fund another 500 buses.
A meeting held in Mumbai, chaired by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, approved the purchase of these buses. Guardian Minister Ajit Pawar and Higher & Technical Education Minister Chandrakant Patil had earlier proposed expanding the PMPML fleet.