PMPML Sees Revenue Rise but Ridership Declines in 2025

PUNE: Despite a notable increase in revenue from ticket sales, the Pune Mahanagar Parivahan Mahamandal Limited (PMPML) has experienced a sharp decline in the number of passengers, raising concerns for the public transport undertaking. In 2025, the PMPML earned ₹678.89 crore in revenue from ticket sales, while 12,800,000 passengers traveled by PMPML buses during the year. Following a fare hike, revenue from ticket sales rose by ₹98 crore compared to 2024, but the number of passengers fell by 900,000, highlighting a worrying trend of declining ridership.

The PMPML currently operates around 1,700 buses daily across Pune, Pimpri-Chinchwad, and the Pune Metropolitan Region (PMR). While the fleet comprises 2,049 buses, only about 1,600 to 1,700 buses are deployed daily across a total of 381 routes. During the earlier months of 2024, the PMPML’s monthly revenue reached close to ₹50 crore with around 11.5 lakh passengers daily. After the beginning of 2025 and before the fare hike, both ridership and revenue witnessed a steady decline, with daily passengers dropping to 10 lakh and monthly revenue from ticket sales falling to nearly ₹44 crore.

Typically, the number of passengers increases after schools reopen in June. However, the PMPML implemented a 30% fare hike around the same time, which appeared to have discouraged commuters. As a result, the number of daily passengers on average declined by nearly 72,000 in 2025, preventing the PMPML from achieving its expected revenue targets. Additionally, the expansion of the Pune Metro services and corresponding routes provided commuters with a faster, more reliable alternative, further contributing to the shift away from bus travel.

The PMPML had earlier claimed that the fare hike would generate an additional ₹300 crore annually. However, due to the continuous fall in passenger numbers, only ₹98 crore has been earned thus far through the revised fares. The operational deficit, which had touched nearly ₹900 crore last year, was expected to reduce but with limited revenue gains, the deficit is now likely to rise further this year as well. Increasing ridership has now become a major challenge for the PMPML administration.

Chief Managing Director (CMD) of the PMPML, Pankaj Deore, struck an optimistic note, saying, “The PMPML is committed to strengthening public transport by improving service quality, operational efficiency, and passenger convenience. While challenges remain, focused efforts on route rationalisation, fleet modernisation, and better commuter experience will help us regain ridership and ensure sustainable growth.”