The transport authority cannot begin bus services on the routes until the civic body implements the infrastructural changes mentioned in the safety audit report
Pending work on the Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS) at Alandi Road and Nagar Road is in its final stages and the Pune Mahanagar Parivahan Mahamandal Ltd (PMPML) is trying its best to begin the services on these routes.
Costly affair: BRTS work on Alandi Road, combined with that on Nagar Road, is likely to cost Rs 27 crore
Attempting to get the work done at the earliest, PMPML chairman and managing director Ramchandra Joshi, recently sent a letter to the commissioner of Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) addressing him to get the remaining infrastructural work done in accordance with the changes prescribed by IIT-Bombay officials in their road safety audit.
Much of the infrastructural and alteration work as per the safety audit is still incomplete. Until it’s done, it is unsafe for buses to ply on these roads.
In all, there are 22 bus stations on the 16-km stretch (14 on Nagar Road and 8 on Alandi Road) and in December 2013, a road safety audit was conducted by the PMC for this new corridor.
Joshi said, “We have the required number of drivers and buses in place and on other hand we have started the work of implementing censors to BRTS buses in our fleet. The main concern is of the implementation of changes suggested in the road safety audit, which needs to be done on priority basis by the PMC.”
Additional Municipal Commissioner Omprakash Bokaria said, “We are studying the suggestions mentioned in the road safety audit and will finish the pending work.”
A PMC engineer in the road department working on these BRTS routes, on condition of anonymity, said, “We have implemented most of the changes. Also slums surround the routes and robberies take place often at bus stations.
Automatic doors installed are of Rs 3.5-lakh each, which are stolen part by part. We cannot afford to repair things damaged or robbed every time.”
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