A single integrated ticketing system for different modes of public transport in Pune city along the lines of Mumbai would be made available in the coming days as soon as the ongoing Metro project was completed, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Leader of Opposition and former Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said on Friday.
“The same way as an integrated ticketing system is being launched in Mumbai to cover Metro rail, Monorail, BEST and waterways, a ticketing system to integrate Metro rail and bus services will soon be operational in Pune. Trials of the Pune Metro were conducted on Thursday and the service will be commissioned soon,” Mr. Fadnavis said.
He was speaking at the inauguration of an AC bus tour of Pune city with a nominal ticket pricing of ₹10 — an initiative of the BJP-ruled Pune Municipal Corporation.
Mr. Fadnavis said that while some people had doubts about the Pune Metro rail project when it was started by his government, the work was currently proceeding apace and that Pune and Nagpur were the only two cities where Metro work was under way even amid the pandemic.
“When I was the CM, I had said that the State government would provide all help and had asked the PMC to purchase CNG and electric buses to make the city pollution-free. Today, Pune’s civic-run transport undertaking has the highest number of electric buses in its fleet,” he claimed.
Accusing the ruling Maha Vikas Aghadi government of attempting to deflect vital questions like the OBC and Maratha reservation issues, and the problem of pending Maharashtra Public Service Commission appointments, Mr. Fadnavis said that the BJP would agitate for OBC reservation on the streets if need be.
The BJP leader further accused the Uddhav Thackeray-led government of attempting to stifle the Opposition by holding a one-sided session of the State Legislature and suspending 12 BJP MLAs.
“We fill fight in courts and with people in the streets till the OBC community gets political reservation,” he said.
