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Many Metro passengers are unhappy because the feeder buses that used to connect nearby areas to the stations have stopped running. Although they started last year, these buses have not been running for the past weeks. As a result, commuters are now forced to spend more money on auto rickshaws
to reach the stations.
Rising Demands of Commuters
Phugewadi is one of the first Metro stations to open in Pune, over two years ago, on the PCMC-Swargate route. Regular commuter Bhushan Patil said that more feeder buses should run from stations like Phugewadi and Dapodi. He suggested that buses could extend their routes to Sangvi and even further, encouraging more people to use the Metro. Another passenger, Sanjay Pore, said feeder buses should run from Bopodi station towards Aundh and from Dapodi and Phugewadi towards Sangvi. Even if the buses don't run all day, they should at least operate during busy hours. He also recommended using smaller buses to avoid traffic problems. Other commuters added that more buses should be planned from the PCMC Metro station, as it gets a large number of passengers daily.
Importance of Feeder Buses
These feeder buses are part of a special service jointly managed by Maha Metro and PMPML to connect different Metro stations. A PMPML official stated the feeder buses from Phugewadi were suspended a couple of months ago and will restart once new buses are added to the fleet. Some routes are also being redesigned for everyone's convenience. A Maha Metro official stated they are supporting PMPML feeder buses on more routes. He added that while some routes have low usage, new plans are being made to meet commuter needs. Currently, daily Metro ridership has increased to around 2.25 to 2.5 lakh passengers, and feeder buses play an important role in helping them reach the stations.
