As the recently started bus feeder service from Ramwadi metro station to Pune Airport is not getting many passengers, the Pune Mahanagar Parivahan Mahamandal Limited (PMPML) has decided to review the service if the passenger numbers remain low for two more months.
Currently, only around 200 passengers are using the service daily.The Ruby Hall Clinic to Ramwadi metro route, operated by the Maharashtra Metro Rail Corporation Limited (Maha-Metro), was inaugurated on March 6 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
To help passengers get last-mile connectivity, the PMPML started the bus feeder service from Ramwadi metro station to Pune Airport the very next day.
The Ramwadi metro station to Pune (Lohegaon) Airport (via Sakore Nagar) route includes stops at Hyatt Hotel, Wakefield Company, Sakore Nagar, Nexa Showroom, Viman Nagar lane no. 22, Viman Nagar lane no. 21, Symbiosis College Viman Nagar, Croma Mall Lohegaon, and Lohegaon Airport. The ticket costs between ₹5 and ₹10, depending on the distance, and the entire journey takes about 25 minutes.
Similarly, the Ramwadi metro station to Lohegaon Airport (via Sanjay Park Lane no. 6) route includes stops at Lohegaon Airport, Croma Mall Lohegaon, Symbiosis College Viman Nagar, Sanjay Park Lane no. 6, Maruti Suzuki Showroom Sakore Nagar and Checkmate Hotel. The ticket costs between ₹5 and ₹10, again depending on the distance, with a journey time of around 25 minutes. These services are provided by the PMPML.
According to the PMPML, they started a bus feeder service from Ramwadi metro station to Pune Airport with 10 trips per day. When they first started the service, about 50 passengers were using it daily which has now grown to around 200 passengers using it daily. However, the PMPML target is to have over 400 passengers daily. Typically, the PMPML gives any new route around two months to see the passenger response before keeping or discarding that route. The PMPML is getting a good response from other bus feeder services. Hence, the PMPML is optimistic that the situation will improve going further.
More than 60,000 passengers have travelled on the new Pune Metro route from Ruby Hall Clinic to Ramwadi since its inauguration on March 6. The inauguration was delayed by a few months due to the PM’s busy schedule. Earlier, it was planned for February 19 but got delayed due to the PM’s visit being postponed.
Finally on March 6, he managed to virtually inaugurate the route in just a few seconds from Kolkata.
He also performed the ground-breaking ceremony of the extended metro line from Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) to Nigadi via video conferencing.
The Ruby Hall Clinic to Ramwadi Pune Metro route includes the Bund Garden, Yerawada, Kalyani Nagar, and Ramwadi metro stations.
However, the entry-exit point work of Yerawada station is still underway so the Yerawada station will open later.
Earlier on March 6, 2022, the PM inaugurated the seven kilometre stretch from PCMC to Phugewadi and the five kilometre stretch from Vanaz to Garware College.
Later, on August 1, 2023, he inaugurated the Pune Metro stretches from Phugewadi to Civil Court (6.91 km) and Garware College to Ruby Hall Clinic (4.75 km).
