METROZIP……..BACK ON THE ROADS AGAIN
Metrozip……the name that ferried thousands of employees working at Hinjawadi from their homes to their offices and back, has just been resurrected after a five year hiatus.
Launched in 2014, Metrozip was previously operated by known names in the transportation segment like Supreme Trans Concepts, Mahindra Logistics, Prasanna Purple and Ford Officeride. The popular service amongst the employees had to be suddenly discontinued in Apr 2020 due to COVID. The years that followed found a changed working ethos in the form of Work from Home, Hybrid Working and Flexi Timings. This precluded any worthwhile transport system to operate. The scene has now changed and companies are operating at full employee strength.
Metrozip has thus relaunched its services - this time through COCORIDES the parent company of which – Routematic – is already in the office transport space in Pune. The launch was held at Rajiv Gandhi Infotech Park (RGIP) on 05 May 2026 with much fanfare. The app-based service will start with 70 routes and offer multiple schedules to employees.
The endeavour to re-launch Metrozip received immense support from the Regional Transport Offices of Pune and Pimpri – Chinchwad.
Speaking at the launch, Mr Krishnan Subramanian, President HIA highlighted the importance of shared transport services for companies working in one geographical area to provide employees a safe, clean and punctual commute. He also highlighted the bigger goal of Metrozip – that of improving the traffic conditions on roads by reducing the number of vehicles and thereby reducing the carbon footprint.
The co-owners of Routematic Mr Sriram Kannan and Ms Kavitha Ramchandragowda were also present at the launch and highlighted the essential features of the service and employee-friendly aspects that CocoRides has brought forth for Metrozip commuters.
Large number of employees from all member companies graced the occasion. We look forward to soon seeing Cocorides for Metrozip service regain and surpass its pre-COVID operations.
Metrozip Transport Initiative
RGIP is located at quite some distance from the city of Pune and the suburb of PCMC from where bulk of the 2.5 lakhs employees and support staff come for work. Added to that,the companies operate in shifts that run till late evening. The public transport too is not suitable or adequate to cater to the large workforce. Safety of the employees was also a consideration especially for the late evening shifts. Taking all this into consideration, it was felt that HIA must have its own transportation system run as per requirements of the employees and also one that offers full safety for them. The Transport Operations Committee (TOC) was thus formed to undertake this onerous task. The task was mammoth – selecting reliable vendors, selecting of routes and bus stops, managing the timings to ensure the various shifts had adequate transport fleet available and that the employees reached well on time daily. Thus, MetroZip, a Joint Transport initiative of MIDC and HIA with guidance and support from the office of the Transport Commissioner GOM & RTO was launched in Sep 2014. The pilot project commenced with 13 buses on four routes with a frequency of six buses on each route and 500 commuters. The web portals for registration, selection of routes, using payment gateway and the GPS system for tracking of the buses of the MetroZip services are the key technology drivers towards making the commute smooth and comfortable for the employees of HIA member companies. The keen interest of employees in using this transport saw the Metrozip fleet grow quickly and on 18 Aug 2016, Metrozip launched its 100th bus. Metrozip Initiative was enlarged with introduction of two other services in Aug 2016 – Metrozip Green in the non-AC segment operated by Mahindra Logistics and Metrozip Delight in the AC segment run by Prasanna PurpleMobilty Solutions Pvt Ltd. The demand for more transport facilities led to the introduction of yet another vendor – this time it was Ford Smart Mobility (FSM) that partnered with Hinjawadi Industries Association (HIA) to launch “Office Ride for Metrozip”. The launch was on 12 Feb 2019.
Services Temporarily Suspended
With employees working from home due to the pandemic, Metrozip services are currently suspended. We look forward to starting them once the employees return to RGIP and start working from offices. We shall update everyone on the Website once we get set to re-start Metrozip operations.