Tag: Aerial View

All Aerial View images, drones, upper floors, etc.

BEST’s AC Buses To Airport Run Into Trouble With Transport Authority

On 11 October, Aaditya Thackeray flagged off two new routes of the Brihanmumbai Electricity Supply and Transport (BEST) undertaking. The new routes, while not numbered are point to point services connecting Terminal 2 (T2) of the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA) with Banda Kurla Complex (BKC) and South Bombay (SoBo) respectively.

Activists claim that the fares are too expensive, which is a separate topic for another day. However, the fare system has run into another form of trouble.

According to a report by the Press Trust of India, the new fares have not been approved by the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Transport Authority (MMRTA). The report states that the BEST committee that approved the fares, but remained mum on whether it had been approved by the MMRTA or not. MMRTA member and Maharashtra Transport Commissioner Avinash Dhakne stated that authority had not received any intimation from BEST on the new fares. The report also added that according to a former member of the Motor Vehicles department, the fare cannot be implemented without a nod from the MMRTA. Another official from the Regional Transport Office (RTO) stated the same.

Fares for regular AC services start at ₹6 for up to 5km, ₹13 for up to 10km and are capped at ₹25. The higher fares for these airport-bound buses did see skepticism on social media.

Apart from social media, the new fares have received flak from corporators in the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM) as well. Congress corporator Ravi Raja who also serves on the BEST Committee said that going ahead with the new fare without MMRTA approval was a blunder, remarking that the buses were meant for the ordinary commuter and not the elite class. BJP’s Bhalachandra Shirsat pointed out that under Aaditya Thackeray, BEST was moving in the direction of the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC, or ST), which is now facing losses mounting to over ₹6,500 crores (in June 2021) which has in turn resulted in a lack of pay for employees. In the 18 months that the Uddhav Thackeray government has been in power, 27 MSRTC staffers have committed suicide due to financial duress, reports Mid-Day.

Another point of concern is BEST’s focus on SoBo and complete disregard for the suburbs under the current regime. Let us hope BEST cleans up its act soon, lest BEST turns the worst.

Featured Image: BEST’s new Electric Fleet on the Bandra-Worli Sea Link.

If you intend to step out, whether to board on electric bus or not, please wear a mask, carry sanitizer and maintain social distancing.

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This Is What Asia’s Largest Bus Station Looks Like From Above

After a lengthy gap, I’ve managed to come across another delightful drone image, this time it is one something that I have been looking for over the last year and a half. Throughout the pandemic and subsequent lockdowns, we have seen aerial drone shots of different bus stations, depots and even a metro depot.

This is an aerial view of Asia’s largest bus terminus. Now before you get confused, this is not the erstwhile Millenium Park depot from Delhi. This is the Chennai Mofussil Bus Terminus (CMBT) officially known as the Puratchi Thalaivar Dr M. G. R Bus Terminus located at Koyambedu in Chennai. Spread over 37 acres, it serves as a common bus terminus for all outstation buses operated by the six Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporations (TNSTC) and the State Express Transport Corporation (SETC) while also serving buses to other states including the Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) and Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC). Till 2018, it also served Andhra Pradesh and Telangana-buses and buses of the Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Coporation (APSRTC) and Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (TSRTC), which have since been shifted to the Madhavaram Mofussil Bus Terminus (MMBT) in the northern suburbs of the city. It is also a major terminal for buses operated by the Metropolitan Transport Corporation (MTC), that is located at the front.

Take a look at this beautiful snap clicked by Beema with a DJI Mavic Air 2.

Apart from this, CMBT also houses a Metro station (officially the Puratchi Thalaivi Dr. J. Jayalalithaa CMBT Metro Station). The bus station was built in the early 2000s to decongest the earlier terminal located at Broadway near the Madras High Court. Behind the terminus is the Koyambedu Wholesale Market, the Chennai Contract Carriage Bus Terminus that caters to private outstation buses and the depot for the Green Line of the Chennai Metro.

That’s all from me this time folks. Do follow Beema on Instagram: @my_shutter_life.

Now you know what Asia’s largest bus terminus looks like from the air.

Featured Image: CMBT Drone View by Beema via Instagram.

If you intend to step out please wear a mask, carry sanitizer and maintain social distancing.

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This Is Probably The Most Gorgeous Photograph Of The Colaba Depot At Night Ever!

Of all the BEST depots, the most photogenic one of all seems to be the Colaba Depot, mainly due to the location of the Cusrow Bagh Parsi Colony located right next doors.

I’ve posted two aerial pictures of Colaba so far, both clicked by Ujjwal Puri aka Ompsyram on Instagram.

Here is one of the Colaba Depot and Electric House clicked at night and man does it look gorgeous with all those lights around it!

Absolutely gorgeous isn’t it? Don’t forget to follow Ujjwal on Instagram!

Also Read:

Give Me Red: Drool Over Yet Another Picture Of Colaba Depot And Its Mini-Buses

Feast Your Eyes On This Photograph Of Electric House And Colaba Depot

That’s all from me for the time-being. Do consider backing me up on Patreon!

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Also, if you intend to go out, don’t forget a mask and sanitizer!

       

Featured image: Mini-buses parked at Colaba Depot by Nikhil Sawant

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An Aerial Shot From Tamil Nadu: Take A Look At Salem’s Central Bus Terminus

I’m sorry for not posting much this month, things have been busy in the offline world. Anyway, here is another drone shot. This time from Tamil Nadu.

Have you heard of Salem? No, not Salem, Oregon, or Salem, Massachusetts where the infamous Salem Witch Trials took place between 1692 and 1693. Salem, Tamil Nadu is the fifth largest city in the state and among the state’s 12 entries as part of the Smart Cities Mission.

Salem is home to two bus stations. The old bus station, known as Town Bus Terminus and the new bus terminus, known as the Central Bus Terminus or officially the Bharat Ratna Dr. M. G. R. Central Bus Stand. The older bus station is located at the heart of the city, on the southern banks of the Thirumanimutharu river, adjacent to the Salem Municipal Corporation’s Office in a locality known as the First Agraharam. It is currently being renovated and rebuilt as a two-tier bus station by the Salem Smart City Limited.

The new bus station is located in the north of the city on Omalur Main Road (the old national highway (NH 44, old NH 7) that passes through the city). It caters to most outstation buses to Chennai, Bangalore, Coimbatore, and Cochin, including buses operated by TNSTC, SETC and KSRTC.

Below is an aerial photograph of the New Bus Station, clicked by Dhenesh.

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Covid lockdown has made us to forget some of our daily views , which were a part of our routine life!! Things once we were used to have now become memories, a bitter truth!! This shot is Just to revive your memories of Salem new bus stand!! ____________________________________________ #salem #yercaud #tamilnadutourism #aerialholicclicks #aerialholic #lockdown #_coi #dronesofindia #indiaundiscovered #dronesofinstagram #vikatanpixel #tamilnadu #indiapictures #tamilnaduphotography #djiindia #incredibleindia #dji #cntgiveitashot #condenasttraveller #othallofframe #tnlindia #thrillophilia #lonelyplanetindia #lpmiindianscenes #natgeoyourshot #natgeoindia #yourshotphotographer #natgeotravel #indiafromabove #spiritofindia @indian.hobbygraphy @photograohers_of_india @natgeotravellerindia @natgeoyourshot @indian.photography @desi_diairies @indiapictures @official_photography_hub @djiglobal @natgeoindia

A post shared by Dhenesh | Travel Photographer (@aerial_holic) on

Don’t forget to follow Dhenesh here: @aerial_holic.

In the above image, you can see the entire bus station along with the tail end of the bus stand arm of the ₹441 crore two tier flyover that connects central Salem. Officially called the Puratchi Thalaivi J. Jayalalithaa two-tier flyover, it is 7.87 km long and connects all the major roads in the city. It was inagurated by Chied Minister Edappadi K Palaniswamy on 11 June this year.

Interestingly, I have been able to find absolutely zero images of India’s largest bus station, the Chennai Mofussil Bus Terminus (CMBT) from above. I’ve also not found a single one from Coimbatore either.

This was a double bonanza. A bus terminus and a flyover.

Featured image: Salem New Bus Stand by Purshotam Pareek on Google Maps.

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A Sneak Peak Of Wadala Depot And Its Red Minis From Above

BEST’s Wadala Depot, located at the border of Wadala (West) and Dadar (East) is among their oldest ones. It is also the depot where people need to go to get their spare change returned.

The depot is home to several types of buses, including the converted non-AC Cerita fleet and also the mini-bus fleet belonging to MP Enterprises (MPE).

Have you ever wondered what the Wadala Depot looks like from above? Or at least partially? Look no further, well, actually a little further.

While the image captures most of the areas south of the depot, you can see the tail end of the depot, with its buses and the minis visible.

This image was clicked by Akshay Mane; you can follow Akshay on Instagram here: @mane_aky.

That’s all from me for now. Featured image: Wadala Depot by Suyash Padekar on Google Earth.

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Take A Look At Gorai Depot From Behind

Okay, by now I assume you’ve either bookmarked my blog because you love the aerial shots or you have decided never again would you visit because your bored. At my end, it’s becoming difficult since there are fewer and fewer images that I can find.

Here is an image of the Gorai Depot, BEST’s northernmost depot as well as the second westernmost depot. As stated earlier, the westernmost depot is the Malvani Depot.

These two pictures were clicked in May 2018 and January 2019 by Rupesh Ghadge. Do follow Rupesh on Instagram here: @the_black_advento.

Here is the first one, clicked at night in May 2018.

And here is the second one from January 2019.

This image was clicked during the December 2018-January 2019 strike by staffers of BEST. The strike ultimately prompted then Municipal Commissioner Praveen Pardeshi to allow BEST to tap in to the MCGM’s budget.

I don’t support bus strikes (or strikes of any kind for that matter); do read my earlier article on why: Strike It Off! (yes, the title was inspired by Taylor Swift’s Shake It Off).

Featured image: AS-461 bound for Gorai Depot waiting at Mulund Check Naka Bus Station (Picture clicked by Srikanth Ramakrishnan in April 2015).

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Take A Look At PMPML Electric Buses Charging

I’m sorry for the lack of posts in the last few days. I’ve actually been drafting slightly longer articles for you guys over the last three weeks. Anyway, just so that you don’t forget who I am, here is another post.

Pune has a large fleet of electric buses. (I travelled in them in February 2020, and I’ll share a review of it soon). These buses are owned by the Pune Smart City Development Corporation Limited (PSCDCL) and operated by the Pune Mahanagar Paricahan Mahamandal Limited (PMPML). One lot belongs to the Nigdi Bhakti Shakti Depot and the other lot the the Hadapsar Bhekrai Nagar Depot.

Here is a set of them parked and charging at the Bhekrai Nagar Depot in Hadapsar. The picture was clicked by Purvesh Chithore.

Looks cool eh? Here is a picture of them at night:

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DAY 3 : Quarantined Pune 🔥 . . No new cases in #Pune in last 48 hours…and 5 Covid patients are now completely healed! The #StayAtHomeSaveLives is the only way we can overcome this #pandemic #IndiaFightsCorona . . . . . . #indiapictures #storiesofindia #_soi #indianphotos#desi_diaries #mangofolk #everydayindia #maibhisadakchap #indiaclicks #travelrealindia #spicollective #nustaharamkhor #mymumbai #photographers_of_india #indianphotography #yourshotphotographer #incredibleindia #lonelyplanetindia #mypixeldiary #yourshot_india #phonephotography #shuttersofindia#mobilephotography #full_phoneography #_coi #streetphotographyindia #photographers_of_india . . . . @jayostute_maharashtra @maharashtra_india @streets.of.maharashtra @he_kolhapur_ahe @bagha_aaba @kolhapur_survey @beingmarathi @photographers.of.india @natgeoyourshot@instagram @photographers.of.india @mumbaifilmcompany @bhadipachi_aai @bhadipa @indiapictures @daily__clicks @dslrofficialhub @official_dslr_hub @streets.of.india @haram_khor_ @sadak_chap @click_india_click @intocandidphotography @marathifc @stories.of.india @natgeo @discovery @indiaan_culture

A post shared by Purvesh Chithore (@chitz_o_graphy) on

Do follow Purvesh here: @chitz_o_graphy.

The Electric buses are being charged under the canopy that is visible in white colour.

Featured Image: PMPML Electric Bus (PSCDCL)

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Here’s A View Of Dharavi Depot From Above

Back to BEST. For now. The city’s first depot to house electric buses (well, at least Hybrids) was Dharavi which housed the Tata Starbus Diesel-Electric Hybrid fleet. After that came the Backbay Depot that housed the first set of Olectra (then known as Goldstone) buses followed by Dharavi’s twin – the Kala Killa Depot.

For those who may not know, the Kala Killa Depot was formally opened on 31 Janaury 2016. Until then the land behind the Dharavi Depot was never formally used as a depot. Between 2005 and 2016, buses attached to the Kurla Depot were parked here because the Kurla Depot was being rebuilt by Kanakia (part of it is a multi-tier depot, visible from the Santacruz-Chembur Link Road and part of it is Kanakia Zillion) after being damaged during the July 2005 floods.

Here is a photograph of the depot that was clicked by Shashank Parade, a photographer attached to the Press Trust of India (PTI).

Do follow Shashank on Instagram here: @shashankparade.

You can see the Hybrid fleet in the left side of this image. Beyond the depot, you see the Dharavi Loop Road/Sion Bandra Link Road, the Mahim Nature Park and the Mithi River. Those tall buildings you see are in the Bandra Kurla Complex.

That’s all for now. See ya’ll next time.

Featured Image: Dharavi Depot by Santosh Nadar on Google Maps

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Look At These Buses Parked At The Parel ST Depot In The Rain

Time to take a teeny weeny break from BEST and look at another transco from the region. This time it’s MSRTC, aka ST. The MSRTC has five depots in the Mumbai Division of which three – Parel, Mumbai Central and Kurla Nehru Nagar – are located in Mumbai City limits while the remaining two – Uran and Panvel – are located in Navi Mumbai. Among the first three, the Parel Depot is home to the Shivneri and Ashwamedh fleet. I have posted about them back in 2016; you can check it out here: [Photos] Depots of Luxury.

Essentially the Parel Depot is home to the Volvo and Scania fleet along with the Swargate Depot in Pune.

Here is a video (and a photograph) of the depot from August last year, during the rains.

You can also see the Elphinstone/Prabhadevi flyover behind on Senapati Bapat Marg/Tulsi Pipe Road.

Click on the arrow on the edge of the video to see a photograph in the next frame.

Pretty cool no? The video and photo were shot by Lakshman Aroskar. Do follow Lakshman on Instagram here: @laxmanaroskar .

That’s all from me this time. Till the next time, enjoy the view of the Volvo and Scania fleet.

Featured image: Parel ST Depot by Sameer Shigvan/Google Maps

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Depot Atop A Drain: Look At Delhi’s Cluster Buses Parked At Sunehri Pullah From Above

Did you know Delhi has two bus depots built atop a drain? Yes. The Sunehri Pullah Depot and the Kushak Nallah Depot on either side of the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium.

Both were built around 2010, when the Commonwealth Games came to Delhi. The city’s infrastructure went in for a much needed overhaul prior to the games (with the Delhi Metro Airport Express also being built at the same time along with the Violet Line that saw the Zamrudpur accident). Both of them are built on branches of the Barapullah Nallah. Both of them house the orange-coloured Cluster buses operated by the Delhi Integrated Multi-Modal Transit System Ltd (DIMTS). Older readers may recall that I named them Orange Faeries in 2015.

So here is a picture of them, parked at the Western side (next to the Lodhi Road entrance) of the Sunehari Pullah depot.

They look beautiful don’t they?

This was clicked by Sohaib Ilyas. Please do follow him on Instagram: @iamsohaibilyas.

Delhi has three types of buses, the standard green non-AC buses, the maroon AC buses and the orange Cluster Buses. Cluster buses were introduced by the late former chief minister Sheila Dikshit as a replacement after phasing out the Blue Line buses.

To know more about their difference, do read this: Delhi and its Bus Melee

These Orange Faeries look cool from above, don’t they?

Featured Image: Delhi Cluster Buses (Aam Aadmi Party)

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