Several Pune-Mumbai travellers are dropping their plans fearing deluge due to heavy rainfall, in spite of the MSRTC increasing the frequency of its Shivneri buses between both cities.
Rohan Patil, who had planned to visit his sister, said he decided against the plan as it was not an urgent visit. “I was in two minds about visiting my sister after the heavy rainfall in Mumbai. My sister advised me not to take the risk. I will go next week, if the situation is better,” he said.
MSRTC officials said they were not seeing a lot of Mumbai-bound travellers. “The frequency of Mumbai-bound buses has been increased, but there are less passengers now. People are unwilling to travel because of rainfall. Only those with urgent travel needs are opting to travel,” Kailas Patil, the divisional controller, Pune MSRTC, told TOI.
Krishna Tamboli, who had to travel to Kolhapur, also decided to skip the trip. “My family has advised me against it. My father is unwell and I had planned to pay him a visit,” he said.
At the Swargate bus depot, agents of the private bus operators were offering passengers lower fare for Mumbai travel, following which an altercation broke out between them and the MSRTC officials over the issue.
