Nashik Road bus station shifts onto road, commuters face three-month scramble

The entire operations of the Nashik Road ST bus station have been shifted onto the road for the next three months. As part of preparations for the upcoming Simhastha Kumbh Mela, concreting work at the station has begun, with construction starting on Wednesday, September 9, 2026. As a result, ST bus operations will now be run from under the flyover on the Nashik-Pune road, in the area around the Nashik Road police station.

Keeping in mind the expected crowds of pilgrims and passengers during the Kumbh Mela, the corporation decided to rebuild the station. ST buses from Nashik to Pune, Shirdi and Ahilyanagar will now be dispatched from a temporary passenger shelter and control room set up under the flyover. Drivers and conductors coming to Nashik Road station from other divisions have already been informed, and the traffic control room and staff have also been shifted to this temporary location.

Since the new stop is directly on the road and right in front of the police station, fears of traffic congestion are being raised. The road under the flyover between Bitco Point and Sinnar Phata already sees constant vehicle congestion. With the major festivals of Ganeshotsav, Navratri and Diwali falling in the next three months, having the bus stop on the road itself is expected to worsen the congestion further, and commuters may face difficulties. There are also fears that pilgrims arriving from other districts and states could be overcharged by autorickshaw drivers taking advantage of the confusion.

For the convenience of passengers arriving at the railway station, the Citylink administration has arranged for a bus to be available at one corner of the bus station every five minutes. As soon as a waiting bus fills up, another will be sent immediately. However, given the scale of the crowds, how successful this arrangement proves to be will become clear only later. Traffic congestion already occurs at this spot, and with the bus stop now located there as well, the congestion is expected to increase further. Army vehicles also pass through the area in large numbers, and they too will now have to contend with the disruption.

Hundreds of hawkers have been doing business under the flyover for the past 24-25 years, and they fear losing their livelihood now that ST buses have arrived there. In a memorandum submitted to the municipal commissioner, Dr Vasant Thakur and Dastagir Shaikh of the Shram Shakti Hawkers Cell warned that the vacant ST plot near Municipal School No. 125 should be used as an alternative site so that the hawkers' livelihoods are protected, failing which they would launch an intense agitation through democratic and constitutional means.

A stop for the transport corporation's buses has been set up right in front of the police station, and this work is expected to be completed within the next three months. A Citylink bus will be stationed near the bus station for the convenience of rail passengers, and police have been deployed to manage traffic, according to police inspector (traffic branch) Badesaheb Naikwade.