26/10/2012
Pune Municipal Corporation to give 25 AC buses to Pune Mahanagar Parivahan Mahamandal Limited
TNN Oct 24, 2012,
PUNE: The Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) will soon be buying 25 air-conditioned (AC) buses which will be handed over to the Pune Mahanagar Parivahan Mahamandal Limited (PMPML) for being deployed for the city's public transport. Also, at least three of the new buses will be used for 'Pune Darshan' which is a city tour operated by the PMPML for tourists.
The civic body has recently invited quotations from automobile companies and other agencies for the buses.
MLC Mohan Joshi, who has been following up on the proposal of purchase of AC buses, said a fresh budgetary provision has been made this year for buying the buses.
Last year, in February, the PMC's standing committee had made a provision of Rs 12.5 crore for buying 25 AC buses. The standing committee had then said the buses would be used exclusively for IT professionals and for a bus service to the Pune airport. The modern buses were supposed to have LCD screens and charging facilities for cell phones and laptops. However, the proposal never materialised and was soon forgotten amidst the run-up to the civic elections earlier this year. Joshi said the budgetary provision had lapsed after the end of the financial year 2011-12, however, a fresh provision was made in this year's civic budget.
Joshi said that the PMPML may also get about 50 more buses over the next few months. These buses were earlier supposed to be purchased by the Nagpur Municipal Corporation under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission, he added.
Meanwhile, last November, the PMPML had also announced a separate plan to get 100 AC buses from private operators who would invest in the buses and operate and maintain them for a period of 10 years. The operators would have the right to retain the ticket revenues and revenues from advertisement on buses. However, there was no response to this proposal and the plan was abandoned.