Pune: The Maha Metro and PMPML have introduced feeder buses from key Metro stations to cover additional areas, including Bavdhan, Warje, Indiranagar and Dhankawdi. However, commuters have said that the frequency of these buses is "very low" and should match the train frequency of every 10 minutes. With 27 Metro stations operational for commuters on two routes, the authorities are now looking to improve last-mile connectivity by introducing feeder buses.
The feeder routes have been fixed from nine Metro stations, including PCMC and Nashik Phata Metro stations in Pimpri Chinchwad areas. As many as 17 routes have been identified for the buses, which run at frequencies ranging between 10 minutes to over one hour. The latest introduction is at the newly opened Swargate Metro station and other stations like Nal Stop and Vanaz.
Regular commuters, however, are unhappy with the "low frequency" of buses and raised concerns that on routes like Bavdhan and Warje, where buses run every 40 minutes, they hardly serve their purpose. According to Bavdhan resident Ashish Deshpande, "Commuters cannot wait for half an hour to catch a bus to reach a Metro station. More buses should run if Metro authorities plan to operate trains at intervals of less than five minutes in coming days.
" Metro's daily footfall on two routes increased to 1.5 lakh in Sept, and Maharashtra Metro Rail Corporation Limited (Maha Metro) is expecting a growth of another 50,000 commuters in the next six months. Jay Hegde, a r.
