Transit fans and Infra fans can rejoice now as the Brihanmumbai Electricity Supply and Transport (BEST) undetaking’s Chalo Bus premium service will now ply across the Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Trans-Harbour Link or Atal Setu, India’s longest bridge connecting Sewree (Shivdi) to Nhava Sheva across the mainland. This will mark BEST’s foray into connecting the Ulwe side of Navi Mumbai, which it has hitherto not touched.
Route number S-145 will connect Konkan Bhavan on the Sion-Panvel Highway at CBD Belapur to World Trade Centre near Backbay Depot. The bus will run via Sagar Sangam (near the NMMC Head Office, also known as White House by some locals at Killa/Kille Gaon), Targhar, Ulwe, Aai Tarumata, Kamadhenu Oaklands, then take the Atal Setu and Eastern Freeway before touching Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT), Churchgate Station (Ahilyabai Holkar Chowk) and then terminate at World Trade Centre at Cuffe Parade. At this point I don’t know if the bus will have a stop at Mantralaya, which falls between the last two stops.
Four buses will be operated on this route, of which two will travel in the CBD Belapur to World Trade Centre direction in the morning and two in the reverse direction in the evening.
You can book your seats with the Chalo app on Android and iOS.
Apart from this, a report in Mid-Day by Rajendra Aklekar also states that BEST plans to run regular services in the Ulwe belt.
Chalo conducted a trial run with bus enthusiasts including Shubham Padave and Gandharva Purohit.
Featured Image: Chalo Bus on Atal Setu by Shubham Padve (used with permission)
To know more about how the Chalo Bus operates and how to book tickets, do read Gandharva’s article: A Review Of BEST’s Chalo Bus On Day One
