Pune: Around 200 electric buses operated by Pune Mahanagar Parivahan Mahamandal Limited (PMPML) between its Pune railway station and Bhekrainagar depots went off the roads on Thursday following a sudden strike by drivers over an alleged dispute about a Diwali bonus.The disruption affected commuters across the city, with around 800 to 900 bus trips cancelled.According to PMPML officials, one of the two private contractors operating the transport body’s fleet of 650 electric buses had a dispute with its drivers after allegedly paying them a lower Diwali bonus than demanded. “One of the contractors had a problem with the drivers over the Diwali bonus. According to our information, they paid less than the amount demanded by the drivers, which led to the strike,” said Kishor Chauhan, public relations officer, PMPML.With hundreds of trips cancelled, commuters faced long waits at bus stops and were forced to seek alternative transport. “I was waiting at a bus stop near Pune railway station for more than 50 minutes. Eventually, I had to take an autorickshaw to reach my destination,” said a commuter.PMPML officials said the sudden shortage of buses forced them to rearrange services and adjust the deployment of the additional buses. This resulted in delays and irregular bus arrivals on several routes. The transport body normally operates around 1,700 to 1,800 buses daily. PMPML has a total fleet of 2,096 buses, of which 650 are owned by the transport body, while the remaining vehicles are operated by private contractors. The disruption further strained services at a time when many people are outdoors shopping for Diwali.Officials said the issue was still being resolved and that discussions were under way with the concerned contractor to restore normal operations. “We have spoken to the private contractor and asked them to resolve the issue at the earliest. Hopefully, services will return to normal from Friday. Meanwhile, we operated additional buses to minimise inconvenience to passengers,” another PMPML official said.
