Breakdown snatches 2 hours of busy traffic
While commuters were yet to overcome the hardship of Monday's traffic snarl caused by heavy unseasonal rains, Tuesday afternoon again slowed traffic at Station Road as a PMPML e-bus was stranded for two hours from 12.30 p.m. to 2.30 pm.
With three hospitals located at the junction - two private and Sassoon General Hospital - the square is always crowded with vehicles.
Going towards Wagholi, the PMPML bus, while taking a turn towards Ruby Hall Metro Station, suddenly had its gearbox locked after crossing a signal at Station Road.
The driver said that he tried his best to move the bus and pull over, but the engine did not start even after repeated attempts.
With the bus standing diagonally across the road, police officers had a tough time manning the traffic.
Meanwhile, the driver and conductor were guided by a technician over the phone to start the vehicle, but the problem could not be solved. "The functioning of an
e-bus differs from a normal bus, which is why we could not solve the problem," the driver explained to Pune Times Mirror.
The first technician who arrived on the spot could not detect the glitch. He tried for almost an hour. When another arrived, he too was unable to solve the problem. Since it was taking time, a traffic police officer decided to call a towing van.
A traffic cop explained, "We already had a torrid time dealing with traffic Monday evening due to the rains; and today, since 12.30 p.m. we are doing the same. Now, it's almost 2 p.m. We have asked for a towing van to ease the traffic situation."
As soon as the towing van arrived and the driver was trying to attach a belt to the e-bus, the technician managed to start it, giving relief to the four traffic cops on duty.
Commuters irritated
Juned Khan, who was going to Ramwadi, said, "PMPML is the worst transport body. Their buses face technical glitches daily. The PMPML depot is nearby, yet they don't have sufficient staff to repair this bus. I first saw this bus at 12.45 p.m. when I was going to Pune station; and now, at 2 p.m., I am going back towards Ramwadi, and the bus has not moved even an inch."
Pratik Deshmukh, a shopkeeper on Station Road, said, "Thank God, no ambulance passed from this junction between 12.30 p.m. and 2.30 p.m. today."
A PMPML officer, requesting anonymity, said, "As soon as we learned about the incident, our technician reached the spot. Unluckily, our first technician could not detect the glitch. So, we had to send another. The process took a long time."