India, June 4 -- At a time when the Pune Mahanagar Parivahan Mahamandal Limited (PMPML) has reported a cumulative operational loss of Rs.3,863.1 crore over the last 10 years, its growing shift towards privatised operations - by reducing the number of self-owned buses and relying heavily upon contractor-run services - despite the receipt of financial aid from both the Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad municipal corporations; has raised serious concerns about service quality and financial transparency.

Currently, the PMPML operates around 2,000 buses, only 800 of which are owned by the public transport body with the remaining 1,100 buses operated by private contractors under a lease model. Around 70% of these buses are active on various routes whi...