Pune: Here’s a new gift to passengers travelling in Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) buses as it is all set to start Wi-Fi facility in all Shivshahi AC buses starting from January 2018. The Shivneri buses already have this service available for the passengers.
“At present, Shivneri buses which are luxury buses, have Wi-Fi service in them and the service has become a success. We now plan to extend this service in Shivshahi buses starting from next year, but it is difficult to give an exact date as we are working on it,” said Srinivas Joshi, the Divisional Controller, Pune, of the MSRTC.
The Shivshahi buses are air-conditioned and were started by MSRTC earlier this year. At present, more than 1,500 buses have been included in MSRTC’s fleet and are plying to different destinations.
“However, the Wi-Fi facility will not be live Wi-Fi and passengers will not be able to access all sites after the passengers connect it through their phones. But it will have some stored data in the form of songs, movies and passengers can watch and listen to them during their journey. Though things are yet to be decided, the passengers will be given good choices so that they can have a pleasant ride,” he said.
“Shivshahi buses are fast gaining popularity and MSRTC wants to make them even more popular so that they can compete with private buses in all ways. Recently, we have started these buses from Pune to Goa and from Pune to Mahabaleshwar. We are receiving good passenger traffic on these new routes and the same to Shirdi has also been started recently,” Joshi said.
“Shivshahi buses of MSRTC are good, comfortable and luxurious too. Moreover, they are cheaper than Shivneri buses. With Wi-Fi services being planned, it is surely very good news. This will make our journey more comfortable than ever and I am looking forward to it,” Mukul Potdar, who regularly travels between Pune and Nashik.
