The Manchar ST depot in Pune district has received five new Rajmata Jijau buses, strengthening services for rural passengers, college students and workers who depend on state transport for daily travel. The buses arrived at the depot on Friday, October 16, according to a report by Sakal – Pune, with another five expected to be added soon.
The depot currently has a fleet of 29 buses serving villages across the taluka as well as long-distance routes. Depot chief Arif Patel said services on various routes in the taluka would be increased following the arrival of the new vehicles. The report did not specify which routes would receive additional trips or when the revised schedules would take effect.
The expansion addresses a shortage that had affected the depot since it began operations four years ago. During its initial period, the depot depended on older buses transferred from other depots. The shortage of vehicles, combined with a rising number of passengers, placed additional pressure on transport services along rural routes and created difficulties for commuters.
The Manchar depot’s fleet had earlier received 10 new red buses about a year and a half ago following sustained representations to the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation by former state home minister Dilip Walse Patil. The latest five buses add to that expansion, while a further five are expected to be made available shortly.
For rural passengers, fleet size determines more than vehicle availability. It affects whether a student can reach college on time, whether workers can travel between villages and employment centres, and whether residents have a dependable alternative for longer journeys. In areas where services run across dispersed settlements, even a limited increase in buses can allow an operator to add trips or reduce dependence on ageing vehicles. The specific operational benefit at Manchar will depend on how the depot allocates the new buses.
Patil said the additional buses were intended to provide safe and comfortable travel for rural residents, students and citizens. “The Manchar ST depot will receive five more new buses. The main objective is to provide safe and comfortable travel facilities to rural passengers, students and citizens. Five buses have arrived in the first phase, and another five will be made available soon,” he said, according to the report.
The immediate next step is the deployment of the five newly arrived buses and the proposed addition of five more. The depot is expected to increase trips on routes across the taluka, with further details to be determined by the transport authorities.
