Pune: The Pune Mahanagar Parivahan Mahamandal Limited (PMPML) has started air-conditioned bus service from Lohegaon airport to Hinjawadi and Hadapsar area at an interval of 20 minutes every day.
The decision has been taken because of the travel restrictions imposed during the lockdown in the city. Although lockdown norms have been relaxed to a maximum extent, passengers arriving at the Lohegaon airport are finding it difficult to avail public transport facilities to reach their destination. Both Hinjawadi and Hadapsar areas are huge information technology (IT) hubs and large numbers of IT professionals reside in these localities.
The Airport to Hinjawadi route will be through Pune Station, Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) building, Shivajinagar, Aundh and Wakad. Total 15 buses will be operating on this route with a frequency of 20 minutes.
The other route Airport to Hadapsar will be via Kharadi Bypass and Magarpatta city. Total 5 buses will be operating on this route.
Anant Waghmare, Traffic Manager of PMPML said, "Total 20 buses will be running on the two routes from Airport to Hinjawadi and Hadapsar. The buses will be air-conditioned and will operate at an interval of 20 minutes."
PMPML in its previous stint had started similar service between Airport and Kothrud and Hinjawadi. It was halted for a few days due to underutilisation of the buses, but PMPML had decided to revive this service considering the convenience of passengers. There was no direct bus connectivity from Lohegaon airport to Hadapsar. This long time demand of passengers has been addressed with this new service.
PMPML is also planning to restore its services in Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad areas on selective long-distance routes. Physical distancing norms will be followed while operating these buses.
PMPML is presently operating 225 buses for ferrying persons engaged in essential and exempted services. The service was halted in March after a nationwide lockdown was imposed to curb the spread of coronavirus in the city.
