Nashik-Pune Shivneri bus service discontinued

NASHIK: The air-conditioned Shivneri bus service, that had started between Nashik and Pune about a month ago, has been discontinued by the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC).
The bus service was withdrawn without any intimation to the commuters.
“When the authorities started the service, they did not announce it. Now, when they have dropped it, the passengers are again not informed,” said Shankar Zalte, a commuter.
In early November, even the controllers at the New Central Bus Stand (CBS) were unaware about the Shivneri bus service to Pune.
“They made me look like a fool when I asked them about the service. ‘It has been more than two years since the service has been closed,’ they said. When I confronted them with an MSRTC application saying ‘bus available for booking’, they were stunned,” said Rajesh Suryavanshi, another regular commuter.
The current situation is no different. The controllers at New CBS are again unaware of the fact that the service have been discontinued.
A senior MSRCT officer, however, said there was some misunderstanding or miscommunication. “It was the Pune division that had started the service. It did not inform the Nashik division. That is why none of us here was aware. The discontinuation of the service was equally abrupt,” said the officer on condition of anonymity.
When contacted, MSRTC officers in the Nashik division said the reason for the service discontinuation was failure to make adequate number of bookings. “Earlier, people wanted the Shivneri service because the next class was the semi-luxury non-air-conditioned Hirkani bus. Today, they already have Shivshahi — an air-conditioned semi-luxury bus,” the officer said.
While an ordinary bus ticket between Nashik and Pune costs Rs 273, the semi-luxury Hirkani bus (non-AC) ticket costs Rs 368. A Shivshahi tocket on the same route costs Rs 410 and the luxury Shivneri bus ticket costs Rs 605.