The Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation will operate more than 600 additional buses from Pune between November 4 and 7 to manage the expected surge in intercity travel during Diwali, with services departing from Pimpri-Chinchwad, Swargate and Shivajinagar.
The special operations are intended to provide additional travel capacity for Pune residents travelling to their hometowns during the four-day festive period. MSRTC expects particularly strong demand on routes linking Pune with Marathwada, Vidarbha, Khandesh and western Maharashtra.
More than 400 of the additional buses will be operated from the Pimpri-Chinchwad depot. These services will mainly cater to passengers travelling towards Vidarbha, Marathwada and Khandesh, according to information reported by Pune Mirror.
The scale-up will also require temporary changes to depot management. MSRTC has hired a nearby ground to park the additional buses and facilitate their movement, an arrangement intended to prevent congestion at the Pimpri-Chinchwad depot as the extra fleet is deployed.
Swargate bus station will receive around 200 additional services alongside its regular operations. These buses will serve passengers travelling to Satara, Sangli, Kolhapur and Solapur, as well as destinations in the Konkan region. The announcement did not specify the exact number of additional services from Shivajinagar.
The additional buses are being scheduled during one of the busiest periods for intercity road transport from Pune. The city is a major origin point for passengers travelling across Maharashtra, and the Diwali movement typically places added pressure on bus stations, depots and routes leading out of the urban region.
For passengers, the additional services could mean more travel options during the festival period, but availability and departure timings may vary by route. MSRTC has advised travellers to check service availability and departure details before leaving for their respective bus stations.
The arrangements also place an operational burden on the corporation, which must coordinate extra vehicles, parking space, depot movements and passenger handling across three major departure points. The temporary ground near Pimpri-Chinchwad is part of that effort to keep the expanded fleet moving without obstructing routine depot operations.
MSRTC’s special bus operations will run from November 4 through November 7. Passengers travelling to Vidarbha, Marathwada, Khandesh, western Maharashtra, the Konkan region and other listed destinations have been advised to confirm their service details before beginning their journey.
