How to get around Pune

Five parts matter for a visit. The old city, the peths around Shaniwar Wada and the Dagdusheth temple, is on the Purple metro line (Mahatma Phule Mandai and Kasba Peth stations). FC Road and Deccan, the student mile, is on the Aqua line at Deccan Gymkhana. Koregaon Park is a rickshaw ride from the Ruby Hall Clinic or Kalyani Nagar stations. Camp and MG Road are close to Pune railway station, a short rickshaw from the centre. Aundh and Baner, the IT west, are off the metro for now, so it is taxi or bus there.

The rule that follows: use the metro for the long east-west and north-south hops across the centre, and an auto or a cab for the last stretch.

Uber, Ola and Rapido all work in Pune and are the everyday answer for anything the metro misses. A ride across the centre starts from about ₹150. Cabs are the easy choice with luggage, at night and to the airport, but rush hour slows everything: Pune Airport at Lohegaon is only about 10 km from Koregaon Park, approximately ₹200–500 and 30–45 minutes, and peak traffic can double the time. Apps work at the terminal.

The UK Foreign Office advises against hailing taxis on the street, especially at night, and notes that app taxis are available at airport terminals. Most apps let you share the trip with a contact.

Two lines run now: Purple, from PCMC in Pimpri-Chinchwad to Swargate, and Aqua, from Vanaz to Ramwadi, crossing it in the centre. Maha-Metro gives the network as 33.1 km with 29 of its 30 stations open, five of them underground. Fares are approximately ₹10–35. The One Pune card (NCMC RuPay) gives 10% off every ride.

A third line, from Hinjewadi to Shivajinagar, is being built separately by the regional development authority (PMRDA); check whether it has opened before planning a trip to the IT parks around it. More on the metro page.

Autos are the cheapest door-to-door ride for short hops. The meter is weaker here than in Mumbai and drivers prefer to name a price, so booking an auto through Uber, Ola or Rapido settles the fare before you sit down. Meter fares are set by the Pune Regional Transport Authority and revised from time to time; if the meter has not been recalibrated after a revision, the driver should show the official tariff card. Seatbelts are rare in autos.

City buses are run by PMPML (Pune Mahanagar Parivahan Mahamandal). They are cheap and go everywhere, including the Rainbow BRT corridors, but the routes are written for people who already know them: worth it if your hotel sits on a line you can see on the map. PMPML also runs a Pune Darshan sightseeing service and has an official app; it has warned publicly about a fake app, so download the one linked from its own website.

A scooter, at about ₹300–500 a day through operators such as Royal Brothers, makes sense for trips out of town: the forts and Sinhagad. Inside the IT corridors the traffic takes away every advantage. The UK Foreign Office notes India's high road-accident death rate and advises a helmet and sturdy footwear. More in bike rental in Pune.

The train is the usual answer. The Vande Bharat chair car is the fastest, a little over two hours, for approximately ₹580–900; the Deccan Queen, Pragati and other day expresses take about 3–3.5 hours for approximately ₹90–290. The Deccan Queen has kept its dining car and climbs the Western Ghats in daylight: slower than Vande Bharat and far more interesting. Trains leave Mumbai CSMT all day and arrive at Pune Junction, right in the city.

MSRTC Shivneri air-conditioned coaches leave Mumbai every 30–60 minutes, about 3–4 hours for approximately ₹550–650. From Mumbai airport a car takes three to five hours, and the train from CSMT is usually calmer. More in how to get to Pune.