In Pune, Pimpri Chinchwad, vehicle registrations during 2025 festive months highest in 4 years

Pune: Registration of vehicles in the city during this year's festive months (Aug-Nov) has been the highest compared to the corresponding period in the last four years. Generally, the festive season begins in Aug and continues until Nov covering Ganeshotsav, Dasara, Dhanteras and Diwali.
A total of 128,947 vehicles were registered with the Pune Regional Transport Office (RTO) during the four months as against 1,11,839 during the corresponding period in 2024 — a jump of over 15%. In 2023, 107,831 vehicles were registered during the period. In 2022 and 2021, the numbers were 101,671 and 63,520, respectively, data on Vahan portal showed. In areas under the jurisdiction of Pimpri Chinchwad RTO, 86,946 vehicles were registered from Aug to Nov in 2025 as against 72,252 during the corresponding period last year — an increase of over 20%. In 2023, as many as 67,395 vehicles were registered during the period. In 2022 and 2021, the numbers were 58,719 and 39,517, respectively.Additionally, total vehicle registrations in Pune RTO this year have already surpassed the full-year registrations of 2024. From Jan 1 to Dec 24 this year, the Pune RTO had registered 3,25,993. In 2024, the total registrations stood at 302,359, the Vahan data showed.Pune RTO officials said people bought more vehicles this year during the festivals. "One can attribute the trend to frequent launches of new four- and two-wheeler models. The trend of buying during the festive season and auspicious dates made a comeback this year," an RTO official said."Since the last two-three years, particularly after Covid, there was a new trend wherein people were buying vehicles at any time of the year, instead of waiting for festivals. This year, the old trend of buying vehicles during festivals was back. But this does not mean that people were not buying vehicles during the rest of the year," another RTO official said.Shailendra Tulpule, a resident of Hadapsar, who bought a new four-wheeler during Dhanteras, agreed. "My brother bought a two-wheeler in 2023. He was of the opinion that after Covid, the wait for festivals was not needed any more because of uncertainties. Things, however, have changed a lot since. I planned to buy a new car in March but waited until the festival. Uncertainties are still there, but some customs need to be followed, I feel," the working professional said.However, with a large number of vehicles coming out onto the streets, experts were worried. "While owning a private vehicle is considered an asset, it is a huge burden on the city's mobility system. Every driver thinks that the traffic congestion is due to other vehicles and not mine. It is high time for the city to move towards a 'vehicle quota' system, determining the number of vehicles the city's roads can absorb. At the same time, the tax per vehicle needs to be high to not disturb the RTO's revenue. This revenue should be invested in bringing and operating buses. Adding more vehicles to the city's roads and neglecting public transport buses is the root cause of the current traffic mess and poor air quality scenario," sustainable mobility expert Pranjali Deshpande told TOI.Save Pune Traffic Movement president Harshad Abhyankar said an ever-growing number of vehicles was a clear indication of the city not being able to provide alternate means of commute. "With the municipal elections around the corner, all political parties must take a stand on whether they are happy or not about Pune breaking its previous records of vehicle registration. And if they are not happy about it, the parties must make it clear that they are planning to reduce this number at least in the next five years," he said.

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