PUNE: Ganeshotsav has brought smiles back on the faces of private bus operators, with most buses running almost full to the Konkan and other places.
According to the private bus owners’ association, buses going to many places from Pune, especially towards Konkan are running at full capacity since the last three-four days. Buses on inter-state routes like Bengaluru, Ahmedabad, Belgaum have close to 80% occupancy,” Balasaheb Khedekar, president, Pune district Luxury Bus Association, said.
A transporter, whose buses plies between Pune and Konkan, said that it was after a long time that all his buses were full.
“I have eight buses plying to different districts in Konkan from Pune and all have been running at full occupancy for the past four days. Buses are fully booked on Friday and Saturday, too,” he said. According to redBus officials, there has been growth in bus bookings across India for the upcoming long weekend.
According to the portal, the three routes in Maharashtra with heavy demand are Pune-Nagpur-Pune, Mumbai-Pune-Mumbai, and Mumbai-Kolhapur-Mumbai.
However, Anand Lohe, the owner of Ashray Travels, who runs buses to Konkan and Goa, said that things were not very rosy. “A lot of people are travelling by cars and cabs. The bookings have improved in the past few days, but the occupancy is still not full,” he said.
