Cash prizes to drive PMT during Ganesh fest

While the 10-day Ganesh festival has most of the roads blocked or barricaded the Pune Municipal Transport’s (PMT) lal dabba buses have more access to the city than most vehicles.
The Kothrud bus depot in particular has seen this as an opportunity to make the PMT buses the vehicle of choice for the Ganesh festival at least.
In a unique venture the Kothrud depot, which has 342 conductors and 359 drivers manning 1,472 buses, has offered cash incentives to its staff, if they can increase revenue during this period substantially.
Apart from this, they will be running 20 new buses to accommodate the increase in traffic flow. This initiative has been taken by the Kothrud Kamgar Mitra Mandal and has been sanctioned by the PMT.
The target is Rs 25,000, per bus, before the visarjan day.
While the routes generally covered are NDA,Warje Malwadi, Chandni Chowk, Paud Road, Deccan and Swargate, Sunil Gawli, depot manager, says that drivers and conductors are encouraged to make as many stops on the route and treat commuters with utmost courtesy.
“This year we have announced a cash prize of Rs 5,000 for the first conductor and driver to bring in Rs 25,000. There is a prize of Rs 3,000 for the staff who bring in Rs 20,000. The cash for the prizes have been collected by us employees and we have not asked for a single rupee from the PMT management,� Gawli says.