Private sleeper buses at Sangamwadi
“The last time I checked, the round-trip airfare was Rs 38,000. “A non-stop flight from Pune to Bhopal costs Rs 17,800 one-way, while one-stop flights cost Rs 24,000-28,000. A one-way journey with a stopover costs Rs 33,000, while a round trip is Rs 55,000. “One-way airfare is around Rs 14,500.
Nirbhay Pandit, a Khadki resident who works for a private company, said he was unable to secure train tickets to Delhi and could not afford the airfare. The journey will be long and tedious, but I need to be home for the festival,” he said. We are three people travelling and hope the journey goes smoothly,” he said. However, I have back pain, and sitting for so many hours could be difficult,” he said. Yatish Kumar, a Kondhwa resident who works at a bank, said he was struggling to find a way to reach Patna. I could not find a direct bus from Pune to Patna,” he said.
Getting a train seat during Diwali is almost impossible. I have decided to travel by bus despite my family’s reservations. Trains are out of reach, so bus is our only option. For Mundhwa resident Manohar Sharma, travelling to Prayagraj has become both expensive and difficult. “There is no direct flight. Trains are full, leaving me with little choice but to consider a bus. Travellers heading to Bihar are facing similar challenges. Despite the Railways introducing a special train to Danapur, he was unable to secure a ticket and was unwilling to travel in an unreserved coach. If nothing else works, I may take a bus to a nearby destination and continue from there.
Fares were high last year too, but not this high.
Pune: Long-distance interstate bus operators are reporting an uptick in bookings from Pune, with airfares on some routes reaching Rs 23,000-30,000 in the run-up to Diwali and prices expected to remain elevated even after the festive season. Travellers unable to secure train tickets or afford expensive flights are increasingly turning to buses to reach their hometowns, despite longer journeys, rising fares and concerns about travel fatigue.