Pune: Thousands of professionals working in the city’s Hinjewadi IT Park have struggled with escalating traffic congestion and infrastructure issues in the last few years. Now, to provide some relief, the Hinjawadi Industries Association (HIA) has started the ‘Metrozip’ bus service for techies residing in various areas commuting to and from the IT park.While this is the second time such an initiative has been taken up in the last decade, association members pointed out that the rapid growth of the IT hub and the city’s traffic issues necessitate such a venture today.HIA president Krishnan Subramanian said that shared transport is important for employees working in the same geographical zone to enable a safe and punctual commute. “The goal is to reduce the number of vehicles on the road and improve traffic conditions,” he added.The new service runs on 70 routes and has 500 boarding points in Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad. The association has deployed 80 32-seater buses and charges between Rs100 and Rs200 per trip, scheduled during morning and evening office hours. Launched on May 5 this year, the bus service is already being used by 3,000-4,000 IT employees every day. “The number of people using the service will scale up after the app starts working more smoothly,” said SS Salkar, deputy head of operations at the HIA.The 70 routes cover several key city areas, including Nagar Road, Solapur Road and various Pimpri Chinchwad localities, which have long been major pain points for employees owing to long distances and poor road infrastructure.The bus service was initially started in 2014, with multiple providers chipping in. However, it was discontinued on account of the lockdown during the Covid-19 pandemic. This time round, the association has tied up with mobility startup Routematic. It expects that around 1.25 lakh employees from 80 companies in the IT park will use the service eventually.The initiative seems to have been met with some approval. Techie Vivek Kumar pointed out, “The Metro service is still nowhere in sight, so we have to explore other options. Users of the bus service will at least be able to work from the vehicle in case they are late to office.”Another IT employee, Yogesh Bhide, said that the stretch between Kharadi bypass, Mundhwa bridge and Vimannagar junction gets heavily congested during the monsoon. “Hinjewadi Phase 1 roads also face severe waterlogging every year. Travelling from Wagholi to Hinjewadi can take over three hours on bad days. The shared bus service will at least make the journey comfortable,” he added.Sriram Kannan, founder and CEO at Routematic, told TOI, “Leading technology hubs are at a point where commute infrastructure is struggling to keep pace with workforce growth. The future of corporate mobility lies in high-capacity, shared transport networks that bring predictability and efficiency at scale.”
