NASHIK: The much awaited city bus service of the Nashik Municipal Corporation (NMC) has started with great enthusiasm fifteen days ago. Nashik Mahanagar Parivahan Mahamandal Company is operating the buses only on the main roads of the Nashik city and the suburbs are waiting for it. This is causing great inconvenience to suburban commuters.
Taking advantage of the lack of city bus service, private transporters are charging exorbitant fares from passengers. In the last few years, bigger suburbs have been established near the main city, which are included in the municipal limits. It is the responsibility of the Corporation to provide basic facilities here. When MSRTC was operating the city bus service, buses were leaving at regular intervals for the suburbs.
The city bus service was disrupted due to the Corona. Now that the city bus service has been taken over by the NMC. However, most suburban bus services are still closed. At present 52 buses are running on 13 different routes under Nashik Mahanagar Parivahan Mahamandal Company. About seven hundred and fifty rounds of these buses are being completed in a day. The city bus service is getting good response from the passengers.
About eight and a half thousand passengers travel regularly during the day. In fact, Mahamandal is planning to release buses on 63 routes connecting the city and the suburbs. Meanwhile, as the city bus service in the suburbs is closed, passengers have to pipe one and a half to two kilometres to reach the main road. The commuters are demanding that like the MSRTC, the NMC should increase the number of city bus trips in the suburbs.
“The Nashik Municipal Corporation bus service for suburbs will be started in phases similar to the service of MSRTC. Currently, the focus is on those routes to which passengers respond. With the commencement of city bus service on the planned 63 routes, the problem of suburban commuters will be cleared.” – B G Mali, executive engineer, mechanics dept, Nashik Mahanagar Parivahan Mahamandal Company
