Commuters demand dismantling of BRTS bus stops

PUNE: Despite scrapping of the Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS) on the Yerawada to Viman Nagar Chowk stretch, the bus stops continue to exist for advertising purposes. So much so that commuters are now demanding that the bus stops be dismantled as they are encroaching road space.

Uddhav Galande, a resident of Ramwadi, said, “What is the use of keeping the bus stops on the road, especially in the middle, after dismantling the BRTS? These large steel structures in the middle of the road disturb the flow of traffic. The PMC should remove them to clear the obstacles on the Nagar Road highway.”

Amir Sayyad, a regular Nagar Road commuter, said, “The BRTS bus stops are only used for advertisements now. There are three bus stops namely near Gunjan Chowk, Shastri Nagar Chowk and Ramwadi police station. Each bus stop has two advertisement boards. The Pune Mahanagar Parivahan Mahamandal Limited (PMPML) is earning revenue from these advertisements.”

Sharad Dharav, executive engineer of the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) road department, said, “Without PMPML permission, we cannot remove the bus shelters. So, we have decided to put up our demand to dismantle the bus stops in the joint meeting between the PMPML and PMC.”

A senior PMPML official said, “We operate the BRTS, and the PMC builds the infrastructure as we request. The PMC has already dismantled the Yerawada to Viman Nagar Chowk BRTS stretch. It is up to the PMC to decide whether to remove the bus stops since they are PMC property. The PMC had appointed the Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics to conduct the study and based on the institute’s recommendations, the PMC dismantled the BRTS stretch on Nagar Road.”

“They kept the middle lane and built dividers on both sides. We don’t know why they kept the lane as it is. I haven’t seen the study report from Gokhale Institute, so we don’t know what the PMC is planning. It is true that we have been given advertising rights at the bus stops,” the official said.

In December 2023, the PMC removed about 3.5 km of the BRTS on the Ahmednagar-Pune highway from Yerawada to Viman Nagar Chowk (Phoenix Mall) to ease traffic problems. Not only was the BRTS on this stretch not operating due to the Pune Metro work, the MLA of Vadgaon Sheri constituency and civic activists were demanding scrapping of the BRTS. Under pressure from local residents and politicians, the PMC appointed the Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics to carry out a scientific study before taking any decision. Based on the institute’s recommendations, the BRTS was scrapped but the bus stops were retained.