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Pune: With thousands of passengers travelling to their hometowns to celebrate Diwali, the Shivajinagar State Transport (ST) depot in Pune set a new record by covering a combined distance of 70,192 kilometres in a single day on November 5. A total of 167 buses operated by the depot achieved the feat, marking the highest distance covered by any single ST depot in Maharashtra in a day, according to the ST administration.
Pune attracts a large number of people from different parts of Maharashtra and other states for employment, education and business. The number of passengers travelling to their native places increases significantly during the Diwali holidays. Anticipating the festive rush, the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) had deployed additional buses on several routes to facilitate passenger movement.
The Shivajinagar depot operated 167 buses on various routes, increasing the number of daily trips to accommodate the surge in demand. While its buses usually cover around 60,000 to 63,000 kilometres collectively every day, the additional services during Diwali pushed the distance to 70,192 kilometres on November 5, approximately 7,000 kilometres more than its usual daily average.
The depot also generated revenue of ₹49.45 lakh on the day. It currently ranks first in Maharashtra in terms of the daily distance covered by its buses, followed by the Nashik depot, whose buses collectively cover approximately 51,000 kilometres a day.
"Shivajinagar depot's buses generally cover around 60,000 to 63,000 kilometres every day. Additional services were operated during Diwali to facilitate passengers, taking the total distance covered on November 5 beyond 70,000 kilometres. This is the highest single-day distance recorded by an ST depot in the state so far," said Sanjay Walve, Senior Depot Manager, Shivajinagar.
Indore bus covers longest route
Among the long-distance services operated from the Shivajinagar depot, the Pune-Indore bus covers the longest route. The bus departs daily at 7am and travels approximately 680 kilometres between the two cities.
Other major long-distance destinations served by the depot include Amravati, Akola, Nagpur, Dhule and Yavatmal.
The record in numbers
Total distance covered: 70,192 km
Revenue generated: ₹49,45,998
Buses deployed: 167
Buses stationed overnight at the depot: 115
Buses arriving from and departing to other depots: Around 1,360
Usual daily distance covered: 60,000-63,000 km
