Prateek Tanmay
3 min readJul 25, 2026 07:09 PM IST
Bus shelters with advertising rights, longer lease terms for depot development, and monetisation of vacant land parcels are among the measures bus service provider Pune Mahanagar Parivahan Mahamandal Limited (PMPML) is pursuing to boost revenue, Chairman and Managing Director Mahesh Awhad said while addressing a special general body meeting convened by the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) on Friday.
Awhad said PMPML plans to develop 1,000 bus shelters under a public-private partnership (PPP) model, which is expected to generate around Rs 86 crore in revenue.
“Of the 685 locations identified across the city, 349 fall within PMC limits and are expected to generate about Rs 22 crore annually,” he said. “The shelters will be made of stainless steel and equipped with solar panels to power mobile charging points, along with emergency buttons for women’s safety.”
The proposal builds on a tender floated last year for 200 bus shelters after PMPML identified 865 bus stops with advertisement potential.
On land monetisation, Awhad said PMPML has proposed acquiring access to 24 of the 32 privately owned but reserved land parcels within PMC limits, either through direct payment to landowners or by offering Transferable Development Rights (TDR).
“Developing depots on these parcels would allow part of the land to be used for PMPML operations while leasing the remaining space for commercial purposes, creating an additional revenue stream,” he said.
Awhad added that although the PMPML board has approved six depot development projects, private developers have shown limited interest because the land can currently be leased for only 60 years.
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However, corporators questioned why PMPML continues to incur losses despite its revenue-generation plans and highlighted several operational issues, including rash driving by bus drivers, bunching of buses on key routes and inadequate services in several parts of the city. They also urged the transport utility to prepare a long-term strategy to reduce its dependence on annual financial support from the PMC and Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC).
Responding to the criticism, Awhad said that while PMPML has not posted a profit in the past 15 to 20 years, its revenue has grown significantly.
“Revenue has increased from Rs 372 crore in 2021-22 to Rs 818 crore in 2025-26, a rise of nearly 120 per cent,” he said.
Expenditure, however, has also risen sharply. PMPML’s spending increased from Rs 1,091 crore in 2021-22 to Rs 1,610 crore in 2025-26, an increase of nearly 47 per cent. To bridge the gap, the PMC on Friday approved an operational subsidy of Rs 474 crore for the transport utility.
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Awhad added that PMPML was not alone in facing financial stress, noting that the Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC), regarded as one of the country’s better-run city bus services, reported a revenue deficit of Rs 575 crore in 2023-24, with similar deficits recorded by transport undertakings in Delhi, Mumbai and Thane.
PMPML currently operates a fleet of 1,964 buses, comprising 1,306 privately owned CNG and electric buses and 698 PMPML-owned diesel and CNG buses. Another 1,000 electric buses are expected to be allocated by the Centre next year.
The transport utility operates 404 routes with 1,906 schedules in the first shift and 1,560 in the second, running nearly 20,000 trips and covering around four lakh kilometres every day.
