The Pune Mahanagar Parivahan Mahamandal Limited’s (PMPML) fare hike, increasing the rates for buses in the city by 35 per cent from June this year, has led to an unusual situation. The fares of Pune Metro are now cheaper than those of buses for the same journey over longer routes.The new fare chart for PMPML buses has 11 stages. Travel of upto five kilometers costs Rs 10, five to 10 kilometers costs Rs 20, 10 to 15 kilometers costs Rs 30, and so on. The final stage is for a travel of 70 to 80 kilometers which costs Rs 120. For the first 30 kilometers of travel, fares are increased at a stage of every 5 kilometers and for the next 50 kilometers, fares are increased at a stage of every 10 kilometers.For the Pune Metro, the minimum fare is Rs 10 for travel upto one or two stations and the maximum fare is Rs 35 when travelling the maximum possible distance (including line change). The metro fare increases in stages of Rs 5.PMPML, Metro fare comparisonThe fare to travel end-to-end on the Purple line of the Pune Metro (PCMC to Swargate), is Rs 30. A 10 per cent discount is offered on the Metro if the ticket is booked online, reducing the fare to Rs 27. To undertake the same journey from PCMC to Swargate (approximately 17.5 kms) on a PMPML bus costs Rs 40 according to the hiked rates.Another exampleis, the bus fare from PCMC to Ramwadi Metro station on bus number 336 is Rs 50. However, the same journey can be covered on the Metro for just Rs 31.50 through online booking.For journeys covering lower distances, Metro fares are equivalent to or slightly higher than PMPML bus rates.JourneyMetro Fare (Rs)Bus Fare (Rs)PCMC to Swargate2740PCMC to Ramwadi31.550*Metro fares with online booking discountBuses still run the cityPMPML buses ferry over 10 lakh people everyday, over five times the number of people that travel daily by the Metro.Ranjit Gadgil, public transport expert and programme director at Parisar, said, “Bus fares being more expensive than Metro is a real shocker. People using the bus cannot simply shift to Metro, since first-mile, last-mile connectivity can be time consuming and/or expensive. Such high fares means that basic everyday commutes will become a financial burden for many and while some may shift to Metro, some will also consider using a motorcycle. PMPML fares should always be 10% less than Metro.”Story continues below this ad“For a commuter it seems bizarre that the cost of a comparable trip on a bus should be more expensive than Metro given the quality of the ride,” he remarked.Bus fares too high: consumersHemant, a regular bus traveller, spoke to the Indian Express about the disparity in fares at Swargate, “Patat nahi (doesn’t sit well with me). I used to go from Bibwewadi to Mandai for Rs 10 and now to even come to Swargate, it costs Rs 20. At least the rates of the metro and buses should be equal if not less.”Nana Shelar, another commuter at Swargate said, “The buses are less and the people are more. The metro is much better than the buses, but it does not go in the Katraj direction. What can I do?”The Indian Express previously reported on the dire state of PMPML. With the city in need of 6,000 buses, it currently has only around 2,000. This figure has not seen an increase in at least the last four years.Story continues below this adShelar added, “Now it has become very expensive to use the bus if you want to buy a single ticket. Using the pass seems like the only possible option, even though that has also been made more expensive.”Waiting for a bus at the Deccan Bus stop, Sunita Shinde said, “Really? The metro is cheaper than the bus? Even the bus pass rates have increased now. How is the metro useful for me if I have to go to Gokhale Nagar? They should not increase the bus fares in the first place.”PMPML’s responseSpeaking about metro rates, a senior PMPML official told The Indian Express, “The metro recently began and it must be seen why the metro has kept its fares low. The metro DPR gives a passenger target of 6.5 lakh per day but they only function at just over 1.5 lakh per day. So the metro might be keeping fares low to attract people and achieve its target as it has not been met yet.”He said PMPML fares had not been increased for the last 14 years while the cost of CNG has increased a lot in the same time. “CNG used to cost Rs 46 14 years ago, now it costs Rs 89. Salaries that used to be Rs 25,000 to 30,000 are now up to Rs 60,000. All of this has to be borne somewhere,” the official added.