PMPML has begun using an integrated digital system to track whether buses are operating according to schedule, allowing officials to compare planned and actual departure times and identify delays by route, depot and trip.
The Pune Mahanagar Parivahan Mahamandal Ltd system brings together records from ticketing equipment and bus operations. The arrangement has been in use for about a month, making trip-level information available at a single location for operational monitoring.
The digital records show the bus number, route number, associated depot, conductor’s identity and the time at which each trip started and ended. Officials can compare the scheduled and actual timings to determine where a delay occurred and examine how many trips from a particular depot were affected.
When a delayed trip is opened in the system, the related operational details become available. Depot managers can use this information to seek explanations and monitor the work of drivers and conductors, helping the transport undertaking assign responsibility for delays based on recorded trip data.
The system is also intended to help PMPML examine the reasons behind delays after they occur. Earlier, monitoring whether buses followed their schedules relied on less consolidated information. The transport undertaking said schedule adherence had previously been around 85 per cent, but improved digital records and corrective measures have taken it to about 95 per cent.
PMPML chairman and managing director Mahesh Awhad said schedule adherence reaches 97 to 98 per cent during the morning session. However, evening traffic congestion affects the ability of buses to reach stops at their scheduled times. Delays in the arrival of drivers and conductors for the second shift can also disrupt the planning of subsequent trips.
A delay in one trip can affect the trips that follow it. As a result, the high level of schedule adherence recorded at the start of the day may decline by the evening. The digital system makes the delay visible, but the operational causes include road congestion and staff availability, according to the information provided by PMPML.
The records are therefore being used not only to monitor punctuality but also to identify where the daily operating plan breaks down. Route-wise and depot-wise data can show whether delays are isolated to particular trips or form a wider pattern during specific parts of the day.
PMPML has provided drivers and conductors with training on schedule adherence and the digital systems. The transport undertaking’s next operational task is to use the recorded information to examine delayed trips, seek explanations where required and address the factors affecting later services.
