Pune: It was supposed to be a routine trip to Mumbai for Rasta Peth resident Rahul Jairam Khote, but on Saturday he had to wait for over 90 minutes to find a bus out of Swargate station, as crowds swelled for Ganeshotsav. “I never had to book a seat in advance, but I should’ve done so this time. I didn’t anticipate such a crowd,” Khote said.Bus stations across the city were braced for the festival rush. MSRTC officials said Swargate alone is expected to handle 1.5 lakh people through Saturday and Sunday, much higher than the depot’s usual weekend footfall of 50,000-60,000.“Some 400 additional buses left for Mumbai from Pune at full capacity,” a senior MSRTC official said. “Buses to almost all destinations, Satara, Kolhapur, Solapur are all running full,” the official said, adding that buses to Konkan were also full.Another passenger at Swargate, Arjun Kulve, told TOI he and his wife had to wait for over an hour for a seat to Satara. “Earlier, one could just buy tickets from the bus conductors. That’s not the case now. But we’re excited about our trip. We’re going home after two years,” Kulve, a Navipeth resident, said.Others bemoaned the lack of seating at Swargate. “This is an important bus depot, but it doesn’t have sufficient seating for waiting passengers. My elderly mother had to stand for a long time,” one passenger said.MSRTC’s Pune station saw similar scenes, with buses to Mumbai running full. Officials there said they expect crowds to be bigger on Sunday.Private bus operators too reported high demand. Balasaheb Khedekar, president of Pune District Luxury Bus Owners Association, said nearly 1,200 private buses from Pune to destinations across Maharashtra were fully booked by Saturday. “We expect Sunday to be better. People will get seats,” Khedekar said about buses that departed from Sangamwadi, Katraj, Hadapsar, Dapodi etc.Pune RTO has stepped up measures to check overcharging by bus operators. On Friday, the RTO announced a WhatsApp number (8275330201) and an email address (mh12prosecution.rtopune@gmail.com) for commuters to lodge complaints.“Our flying squads have already started checks at several locations,” an RTO official said.Many passengers said they were also worried about schedules. “I don’t want to miss my bus,” said Santosh Moghe, who is due to travel to Kolhapur. “I called my bus operator three times on Saturday to confirm the schedule. My family is waiting for me at home,” Moghe said.In Kolhapur, many MSRTC passengers reported long queues for buses. A senior official from the service said there was a shortage of buses in the region as vehicles were being diverted to Pune and Mumbai to meet festival demand. “I waited nearly 45 minutes for a bus, but couldn’t find one,” said Punam Jadhav, a passenger from Kolhapur city travelling towards Shahuwadi.
