Pune: Vehicle population in Pune is 38 lakh, electric vehicle sales up

Pune: The vehicle population in the city in July 2024 was 38,63,849. Electric vehicle (EV) sales are growing. The city roads are chock-a-block with vehicles. Besides traffic congestion, air pollution is worsening.

PMPML CNG, e-buses may have contributed a bit to address the situation but Shivajinagar was the most polluted locality in 2023. This has been revealed in the Environment Status Report (ESR) 2024 of the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC).

Puneites are increasingly using solar power and EVs. This underlines the fact that sales of EVs have gone up. In 2023, 2,93,471 vehicles were added while 2,54,907 were bought in 2022 in the city. Out of these, 1,08,073 vehicles were EVs while 80,000 vehicles complied with BS VI standards.

CNG, e-buses reduce air pollution

The PMPML has given priority to induct CNG and e-buses into its fleet. It had 1,887 buses, out of which 1,187 ran on CNG while 473 were e-buses. Only 12.30 pc buses ran on diesel. As many as 88 pc buses ran on clean energy. This has contributed to reducing air pollution in the city. The 473 e-buses completed over 4,000 crore kms of run till March 2024. This has helped reduce around 7,000 tonnes of carbon emissions.

Shivajinagar the most polluted locality

Shivajinagar was the most polluted locality in the city in 2023. The highest ratio of PM10 was recorded here. The Air Quality Index for PM10 was bad for one day, 2.5PM for 30 days and was the worst for one day out of 365 days.

The highest number of bird species at Kavadipat

The highest number (263) of bird species were found at Kavadipat in the east, 253 at ARAI Hill and 236 at Pashan Lake in the city.