MUMBAI, FEB 19   :    The Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) will launch a new public bus service via the Mumbai Trans Harbour Link on Tuesday. Following this, the travel time between Mumbai and Pune is expected to reduce by an hour, officials said here.

The new ST route of its prestigious Shivneri Volvo and e-Shivneri buses from the MTHL, or Atal Setu, will start on February 20 on an experimental basis.

The MSRTC will operate two new routes: one from Pune Station to Mantralaya (Nariman Point) at 6.30 am and another from Swargate (Pune) to Dadar at 7 am, which will be run via the MTHL.

The return journey will commence on the same route at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m., and there will be a saving of around one hour both ways, benefiting the people of the state capital and the state’s cultural, academic, and IT capital, which is around 155 km away.

The MSRTC Divisional Commissioner, Kailash Patil, informed us that there will be no change in the ticket fares and urged the people commuting between the two cities to take advantage of the new routes with advance bookings on its site or app.

The ST buses take over five hours, depending on the traffic density en route in both directions, to cover the distance between Mumbai and Pune.(UNI)