Tag: MSRTC

How NMMT Grabbed An Opportunity And Made The Best Out Of It

We all would have heard the saying “Hit the Iron, when it is Hot”. The Navi Mumbai Municipal Transport (NMMT) has proved it well. It brought about a revamp that not only improved its services but also encouraged people to prefer them over its counterparts. Here is a detailed analysis of how NMMT has been through a critical phase and brought several improvements in its bus service.

The Beginning

When a majority of the population in Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) was deprived of travelling by suburban trains, NMMT started Route 84 from Kurla Railway Station (East) to Bharat Gears (Mumbra) via Vashi and deployed their newly procured Ashok Leyland SLF CNG Buses. This invited a lot of criticism since both the destinations do not fall under the jurisdiction of NMMC. But this isn’t the first time NMMT has done it. Ghansoli Depot’s AC-131 is supposed to operate between Airoli Bus Station and Borivali Railway Station but most of the time operated between Borivali and Thane Railway Station (East), grabbing the passengers of the Thane Municipal Transport’s (TMT’s) only active Volvo route AC-65. Moving on, the undertaking received electric buses built by JBM Auto which brings us to the next point.

The Future is Electric

NMMT's JBM e9 at Thane CIDCO on Route no. 4 to Vashi Sector 7 and Route 8 Vashi Rly. Stn (Photo: Gandharva Purohit)
NMMT’s JBM e9 at Thane CIDCO on Route no. 4 to Vashi Sector 7 and Route 8 Vashi Rly. Stn (Photo: Gandharva Purohit)

As the Pune Mahanagar Parivahan Mahamandal Limited (PMPML) was getting MEIL Olectra K9D buses and the Brihanmumbai Electricity Supply and Transport (BEST) was gearing up with the delivery of Tata Starbus Ultra and Urban EV, NMMT too had plans for expanding the Electric Bus strength with JBM Ecolife e9 and e12. They set up fast chargers at Vashi Railway Station as well to improve the efficiency. The e9 fleet was deployed on Non-AC routes like 1, 4, 8, 9, 42, 111 and 144 charging Non-AC Fares and AC-105, AC-107 and AC-110 with AC fares. There were paper sheets pasted on the front and side of the bus saying “साध्या दरात एसी प्रवास” (AC Bus at Normal Fares). The buses were impressive, so were their numbers. Slowly, the JBM e12 showed up as well and they began their journey by working on trials. The trials took so long that the buses lying idle started getting damaged during monsoon.

Then, the rumors came of these buses commencing their services during Diwali. Finally, in mid-November the buses started plying on routes 1, 62 and 100 but with a twist.

The Fare Revision

Walking on the footsteps of BEST, NMMT too came up with a solution of fare revision to attract passengers to their AC services. From 23 October 2021, the fares were revised with the minimum fare slashed down from ₹15 to ₹10 and the maximum fare brought down from ₹110 to ₹65. Considering the Volvo fleet of NMMT and the maintenance these buses require, this fare chart is quite reasonable. Talking of the difference between Non-AC and AC fares, the new fares have shortened the gap, thereby encouraging passengers’ buying capacity to avail a comfortable ride in AC through paying a little more. NMMT not only publicised this policy through a Press Note, but even through putting up banners at various bus stops. The twist though is that they started charging the new AC fares in the JBM electric euses which are deployed on their several Non-AC Routes.

However, the difference can’t be felt to such an extent. For instance, a ticket from Thane CIDCO to Sanpada Police Station is ₹23 for a Non-AC bus while it is ₹30 for the AC bus plying on route 1 between Thane and CBD Belapur. The “साध्या दरात एसी प्रवास” tagline on all their Electric Buses was replaced with “वातानुकूलित बस सवलतीच्या दरात” along with pasting the revised fare chart onboard to make passengers aware of the change in fares.

Network Expansion: Connecting the Unconnected

NMMT's JBM e12 arriving at Kharkopar Railway Station on Route no. 23 from CBD Bus Station. (Picture:- Gandharva Purohit)
NMMT’s JBM e12 arriving at Kharkopar Railway Station on Route no. 23 from CBD Bus Station. (Picture: Gandharva Purohit)

With Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) workers on an indefinite strike, NMMT saw another opportunity in this case and started expanding their operation radius beyond Navi Mumbai. Navi Mumbai itself is expanding, with the suburban rail now serving Ulwe (Kharkopar) and further planning to reach Uran. The Mumbai Trans-Harbour Sea-Link (MTHL) is being developed in full swing while Navi Mumbai International Airport remains a big Question Mark till date. The residential areas are developing in Ulwe on one hand and Taloja and Shil Phata on the other. Over the years, Ambernath – Badlapur never had their dedicated public transport undertaking and are dependent on NMMT unlike Kalyan – Dombivli who have KDMT to serve their areas. But the Volvos of the Kalyan-Dombivli Municipal Transport (KDMT) are in miserable condition now and mostly operated from Vasant Valley Depot to Kalyan Railway Station.

NMMT now armed with a variety of Ashok Leyland JanBus, Tata LPO1613, Volvo B7RLE, JBM e12, JBM e9, Eicher Skyline Pro, Tata Starbus Ultra, the newly procured Ashok Leyland SLF CNG and some of their old CNG Buses to choose upon, was ready to tackle these situations.

First things first, the newly procured CNG SLF buses were put into service between Kurla and Bharat Gears Mumbra. This was an invitation to heavy amount of criticism but neither BEST nor TMT focused on this. So NMMT took the non-AC buses and started the service. It turned out to be a success since trains were not accessible for everyone, thereby major public transport commuters were relying on buses.

NMMT's Tata LPO1613, Ashok Leyland JanBus and SLF CNG at CBD Belapur Railway Station (Picture: Gandharva Purohit)
NMMT’s Tata LPO1613, Ashok Leyland JanBus and SLF CNG at CBD Belapur Railway Station (Picture: Gandharva Purohit)

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They then started three routes to South Mumbai via the Eastern Freeway. One from Ghansoli Gharonda, one from Kharghar and one to CBD Belapur. These routes included the operations of CNG SLF buses, Volvo B7RLE and JBM e9 combined. When JBM e12 fleet was under trials, few of them were deployed on AC-107 from CBD Bus Station to World Trade Centre as well. Once their JBM e12 finally entered service, many were sent en route Lokmanya Nagar (100), Kalyan (62), Thane CIDCO (1), Bamandongri (17) on day one. 

TMT meanwhile was busy playing around with its AC-145 which initially started from Bharat Gears Mumbra to Mumbai CSMT via the Eastern Freeway with just one Volvo sent in the morning and in the evening. This was later extended upto Datta Mandir near Kalyan Phata. It was a time-consuming route and the bus used to run empty. Even the driver didn’t bother to stop until someone requested. With the LED Display off, hardly anyone would notice its presence. Just like its predecessor AC-144 (Cadbury Junction to Mantralaya), it was ultimately shut down. There is a just a single newly-started route that TMT is handling well which is 74 from Thane to Diva Railway Station. Lately, they are running routes 79 and 99 from Mulund Check Naka to Parsik Nagar and Retibunder Kharegaon with a good frequency during peak hours.

NMMT's Ashok Leyland SLF CNG on Route 58 from CBD Belapur to Khopoli. (Photo: Gandharva Purohit)
NMMT’s Ashok Leyland SLF CNG on Route 58 from CBD Belapur to Khopoli. (Photo: Gandharva Purohit)

NMMT too recently started their route from Thane CIDCO to Diva Railway Station via Digha Village, numbered 86. Thus the Ghansoli depot’s Tata Starbus Ultra midi buses have started competing with TMT’s 2×1 Ashok Leyland diesel midibuses. On the southern end, NMMT had started plying buses from Vashi to Khopoli via Panvel. With the discontinuation of Khopoli Municipal Transport (KMT) service, this route proved to be a saviour. Currently, this route is curtailed up to CBD Belapur Railway Station. During the MSRTC Strike, another route was inaugurated from CBD Belapur. Route 49 to Karjat is operated by Asudgaon Depot via Panvel, Shedung and Chowk becoming the first municipal transport body to enter Karjat.

Conclusion

JNNURM Duo Ashok Leyland CNG of NMMT and BEST at Vashi Railway Station. (Photo: Gandharva Purohit)
JNNURM Duo Ashok Leyland CNG of NMMT and BEST at Vashi Railway Station. (Photo: Gandharva Purohit)

NMMT was equally hit by losses during this pandemic but kudos to their planning, they are slowly coming out of this phase. Stretching their arms, there are talks to start buses towards Titwala, Shahapur but as of now, there is no confirmation regarding the same. From 1 September, BEST shrunk their network due to a fleet shortage despite having affordable ticket fares. TMT does not have any electric bus in its fleet as of today but there are talks to procure some of them in future. Once operating the Ashok Leyland buses which were similar to BEST, then the Volvos which are a pride of the undertaking, introducing the JanBus around 2017, rolling out the JBM e9 in late 2019 and the JBM e12 in 2021, NMMT has evolved over time. They have learnt from the mistakes that BEST made and ensured that they do not repeat it. Their Ghansoli Depot although needs improvement since it has roughest bus drivers of the undertaking and a below average maintenance of buses. The future seems bright for NMMT to expand its network since it has “Hit the Iron, when it is Hot”.

There might be several points I missed out. Do let me know about them in the comments section below.

Featured Image: NMMT Volvo on AC131 plying between Borivali and Thane at Waghbill Naka. Ghodbunder Road. (Photo: Gandharva Purohit)

If you are stepping out, make sure you wear a mask, follow COVID Appropriate behavior and keep your hands sanitised.

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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 Image Of A “Bus Mall” From Vasai Virar Should Make You Sad

Last week, while trawling thru the interwebz, I cam across a picture posted by transport journalist Rajendra Aklekar on Twitter of a bus operated by the Vasai Virar Municipal Transport (VVMT) undertaking. The photograph was originally clicked by Suraj Poojary.

Writing for Mid Day, Aklekar reports that VVMT has been off the roads due to issues with contractors. The Vasai Virar Municipal Corporation had said in November that they aimed to have at least 100 buses on the roads by December.

VVMT was launched in 2012 and part of its fleet is owned by the undertaking. The remainder of the fleet is outsourced to a contractor Bhagirathi Travels, much like how Surat City Bus and Atal Indore City Transport Services operate.

It was reported recently in the Marathi media that a subsidiary of Neeta Travels has signed up to take over services, but I’m unable to find a link as of now.

Vasai Virar has been suffering due to the acute lack of buses and railway services. While BEST and MSRTC extended their services to the satellite city as part of the state governments awkwardly named ‘Mission Begin Again’, the strain has been pretty heavy.

It’s sad to see a bus fall into such disuse, especially at a time when buses have been the lifeline of the city.

Featured Image: VVMT Shopping Mall by Suraj Poojary, all rights reserved.

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MSRTC Lal Paris Dot Mumbai Streets On BEST Routes

In the last one month, BEST has been junking some of its buses that are over 15 years old, resulting in a shortage of buses. Simultaneously with metro and monorail services shut and suburban services restricted, the undertaking is facing a severe shortage of buses. In order to augment its capacity temporarily, BEST has decided to rent out buses from its younger sibling the MSRTC at a rate of ₹75 per kilometre. MSRTC (or ST) will also provide drivers and conductors as part of the agreement. The buses in question are primarily ST’s fleet of red Parivartan buses, also known as Lal Dabbas or to some fans as Lal Paris.

While 200 buses were initially rented, MSRTC is expected to supply a total of 1,000 buses of its 18,000 buses. Note. Prior to its bifurcation in 2014, the APSRTC had India’s largest fleet of buses, entering the Guinness Book of World Records in 1999 with a fleet strength of 22,000 buses. Post the split, APSRTC has been left with 12,000 buses while TSRTC was given 10,000 buses, making MSRTC the current largest.

The BEST committee is however not enthused with this move. The BMC has decided to cut ₹500 crore for BEST but is going ahead to paying MSRTC. At the same time, 450 of BEST air-conditioned mini and midi buses that have been acquired on a wet lease are lying unused at various depots. The Mumbai Bus Malak Sanghatana, a body of private bus owners has offered to lease their buses at ₹55 per kilometre, and the decision to not use these private buses has also been questioned. There are also allegations of possible scams under the Uddhav Thackeray-led government in the purchase of body bags and procurement of food packets.

Anyway, scams aside, here are some photographs of the buses on several routes.

Some ST buses don’t have route markings and the conductor is shouting out the route number and destination on reaching the stop.



That’s all from me for now.

Let’s hope BEST purchases new buses soon.

Featured Image: An ST bus on a BEST route by Karthik Nadar via Twitter.

P.S: If you’re venturing out, please do ensure that you are wearing a mask. Do try Peter England or Van Heusen on Amazon below.

     

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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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Pictures: Buses Ferry Passengers To Quarantine From Mumbai Airport

After flights resumed in select sectors to allow people to return home, airports have been busy zones with people being transported to quarantine zones for the ongoing Wuhan Virus pandemic.

At Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport, buses are lined up to ferry passengers to the hotels that are used for quarantine purposes. Here are some pictures:

BEST's mini-bus fleet waiting at T2, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport. Photo by Mahesh Sakhalkar.
BEST’s mini-bus fleet waiting at T2, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport. Photo by Mahesh Sakhalkar.

As you can see, BEST has deployed its mini-bus fleet for this purpose. These post vans have been used for myriad purposes over the last three months. They’ve been used to carry essential supplies, they’ve been used as ambulances, they have been used as shuttle services for essential workers and more.

BEST's mini-bus fleet waiting at T2, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport. Photo by Mahesh Sakhalkar.
BEST’s mini-bus fleet waiting at T2, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport. Photo by Mahesh Sakhalkar.

Here is another snap of these buses queued up at the terminal.

Now, BEST isn’t the only transco with its buses being used to ferry passengers from the airport. The Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC/ST) is also using its Shivshahi fleet of AC buses to ferry passengers.

MSRTC's Shivshahi fleet waiting at T2, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport. Photo by Mahesh Sakhalkar.
MSRTC’s Shivshahi fleet waiting at T2, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport. Photo by Mahesh Sakhalkar.

The Shivneri fleet meanwhile has been used to carry goods.

Here is a picture of the Shivneri Scania fleet parked at Nancy Colony, Borivali. The regular buses are used as cargo buses, mostly to transport mangoes.

MSRTC's Scania Shivneri fleet parked at Nancy Colony. Photo by Yash Mhadgut.
MSRTC’s Scania Shivneri fleet parked at Nancy Colony. Photo by Yash Mhadgut.

An update: Regular buses are being used as Cargo buses with seats removed. The bus in the picture is a Malvan- Borivali cargo bus which mostly carried Mangoes.

Here is another picture of the Shivneri fleet:

MSRTC's Scania Shivneri fleet parked at Nancy Colony. Photo by Yash Mhadgut.
MSRTC’s Scania Shivneri fleet parked at Nancy Colony. Photo by Yash Mhadgut.

Both BEST and MSRTC are using their AC bus fleet.

That’s all from me this time. Stay tuned for some more amazing drone shots to be seen though.

In the meantime though, traffic to this blog went up by leaps and bounds over the last month. I’ve made more than 10 posts in June 2020 (higher than the 10 I made in December 2015) and one post in particular – Mission Begin Again: Here Are BEST’s Bus Operations From 8 June 2020 – saw a huge spike in visits, notably from Google Search (for obvious reasons). Of course, this resulted in increased ad revenue as well, but Google AdSense has deemed this traffic as ‘invalid’ because well, it’s their hegemony, remember? Hence, you won’t be seeing Google Ads on this site for the time being.

So please consider backing me up on Patreon.

Become a Patron!

Featured image: A-337 from Agarkar Chowk to CSMIA T2, parked at the airport bus stop in March 2020, when the bus was launched.

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More Nightlife In Mumbai Is Great But Can We Also Focus On Improved Public Transport?

Nightlife And The Evening Economy: Aaditya Thackeray Seems To Have Understood It Well, When Will Others Follow Suit

Yuva Sena President Aaditya Thackeray last week (20 December) tweeted out that state government (of which the Shiv Sena is a part) had notified a proposal titled ‘Mumbai 24 hours’. The proposal in question, spearheaded by the junior Thackeray seeks to allow businesses to stay open 24 hours.

 

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Now it is worth noting that Thackeray mentions establishments outside of five-star hotels in non-residential areas that can be accessed by all and sundry. This seems to be a good move to ensure that nightlife in the country’s financial capital is given its due, since most establishments down their shutters by 2 am.

Why is nightlife important?

The ‘regular’ society usually goes to sleep at night and wakes up the next morning to continue their life. However, with the advent of globalism, world is fast-changing to adapt to 24-hour activity. Take the example of the information technology (IT) and the IT-enabled services (ITES) sectors. Both of them – predominantly dealing with clients in the west – are pretty much active the entire day. Even the media, today functions round-the-clock. Freelancers across various industries too are active across the day, not just to deliver to foreign clients, but also within the country.

With establishments being active throughout the day and night, it gives people an opportunity to venture out at night for various reasons. Many a café that offers internet connectivity attracts people looking to get work done.

Mumbai, like most other metropolitan areas in India is home to numerous startups. Startups, by virtue of being startups invariably see a flexible work schedule usually running beyond the confines of sunlight.

Many such entities operate out of cafes and other establishments (including shared workspaces) due to the lack of a physical office and would thus be the biggest beneficiary of such a move. They could now hold meetings, meet people or just get some work down outside of their usual spaces.

A shift in a city’s operations

Night-time has hitherto been the domain of young partygoers. Work usually takes a backseat, but off-late it has seen an increased presence in major cities.

This brings about another important factor: Crime. A lot of crimes take place at night when fewer people are out. If more people venture out, it would in essence make it more difficult for criminals to strike. This sends out an important point to the law enforcement: Increase patrolling at night. However, in a country like India, it might see an increase in moral policing as well.

The next logical step for the administration is to increase the availability of public transport at night. With the advent of ride-sharing, traveling at night is an easier affair, but then ride-sharing is not everyone’s cup of tea. More buses and trains in the night will mean people who stay out late or have to leave in the dead of the night will have transit options, thus leading to better productivity in terms of real-time activity.

However, nightlife does come with a rider – those who venture out at night must accept that they face the risk of being the victims of a crime. Conversely, it also indicates that law enforcement must step up to ensure better vigilance and patrol at night.

While Mumbai doesn’t have a sizable amount of industries that operate throughout the clock-cycle, other cities such as nearby Pune and Bengaluru do. For many an IT employee, working the night shift usually means the lack of access to a restaurant or café in the event they want to go out. Shouldn’t they too have the freedom to go to an establishment at any time of the day?

Thackeray, being a youngster, clearly understands the advantages of having a continuously operating city. Perhaps it is time that other cities too, take a look at it.

Now for the transit

It is imperative that public transit remains functional all the time. The Suburban network shuts of for 2.5 hours in the night. The Metro shuts at midnight. Why not have them operational round the clock? Let buses run at night too, not just BEST, TMT and NMMT, but also MSRTC. The last Shivneri between Mumbai and Pune leaves at 11-11.30 in each direction. It needs to operate even at night, at least towards Mumbai.

Having any time transit is the first step to more economic activity and productivity.

 

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Stories behind a Ticket

By now, you know me well. I’ve written earlier about why I am fascinated by buses.  You also know that I collect bus tickets. But there is something about these tickets that is not well known to most people.

I often write notes and story ideas on the back of my bus ticket. It can be anything. Most of the time it has everything to do with the journey itself.

So, below are a few such tickets with my stories on them.

Behind a BEST ticket.

A story written on the back of a ticket on Bus. 56. We met. Our Eyes Met. Our Smiles Met. Our Hearts Met. 56 - Yay .... JS - 27 - 05
A story written on the back of a ticket on Bus. 56

Behind a BEST Daily Pass.

A story written behind a BEST Daily Pass. Kid blows bubbles on the street. Sees two men playing Uno in a Cafe. Sees two women playing Chinese Checkers next to them. Is there a Mystery?
A story written behind a BEST Daily Pass.

Behind an MSRTC [ST] Shivneri Ticket.

A story behind an MSRTC Shivneri ticket. My twin and I were returning to Pune from Mumbai. I'm lucky to have a twin. She's not the evil one though. I am. You'll see.. Someday..
A story behind an MSRTC Shivneri ticket. My twin and I were returning to Pune from Mumbai. The evil bit refers to my pranks.

Behind an NMMT ticket.

It was pouring in Bombay when I took this bus. I was lost in an alternate reality where the rain caused an apocalyptic flood. Stormy Night Here. Would I be the Hero of my own Story?
It was pouring in Bombay when I took this bus. I was lost in an alternate reality where the rain caused an apocalyptic flood.

Behind a BMTC ticket.

My boss and I have for long agreed that the Silk Board junction was never a problem. What if the traffic at Silk Board was really a Screening Mechanism to deem who is worthy of entering HSR Layout first?
My boss and I have for long agreed that the Silk Board junction was never a problem.

Behind a Delhi Cluster Bus ticket.

I was sick after inhaling a bit of Delhi's polluted air in Azadpur. Is Delhi's pollution all a plan to systematically force people to move out? A la Tughlaq?
I was sick after inhaling a bit of Delhi’s polluted air in Azadpur.

Two PMPML tickets, both from June 2014, have gone missing. One was referring to a story about an alien visiting Earth that I had written when I was 12: A Visitor From Xyralite, and the other was an outline for a story that I wrote two months later on a Nuclear Apocalypse: Silence. I will find these someday and post them here. Till then… *salutes*

 

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#YogaDay special: Yoga and its contribution to Public Transport

Today is International Yoga Day, something that was recognised by the United Nations last year.

Not many people are aware of the immense contributions that Yoga has had on Public Transport.

We often hear negative news about Staff and Employees of Transcos allegedly harassing commuters. Sometimes, we also hear about bus drivers moving down people. While, I don’t want to get into the specifics of all of this, let us look into the root cause of all of this.

All of them have a common cause: Stress.
A bus driver and conductors job is most certainly not the easiest task in the world. It requires a lot of skill and patience. Drivers have to put up with traffic jams, negligent and rash drivers, bad roads, and also passengers who don’t board/disembark through proper doorways or at specific bus stops. This adds to a lot of stress.
A conductor has to deal with people not giving change, rude passengers, passengers boarding/disembarking via the wrong pathways or at bus stops, people not moving to emptier sections of the bus, etc. This, again adds to the stress.
Now, multiply these instance by multiple passengers, number of trips, depot officials asking for fuel reports and fare collections, and you have a perfect recipe for a Nervous Breakdown.

To reduce the load on the staff, several Transcos decided to take up Employee Care measures by introducing Yoga, and Meditions sessions.

MTC has mandatory yoga sessions for staff involved in accidents. They also have sessions to prevent a stress overload, as well as sessions on effective communication and life skills. Similarly, KaSRTC, too has sent its staff to Yoga and rehabilitation to help reduce alcoholism among its staff members.

Others, such as BEST, MSRTC, and BMTC too have had sessions on meditation, anger management, and relaxation to keep staff at ease during long working schedules in order to help reduce stress levels and increase productivity.

Yoga is something we should be proud of. It is pretty much a Soft Power that originated in India. It was earlier laughed off by critics, but today is accepted as an international practice.

Hats off to the government for promoting Yoga as a stress-buster and natural relaxant. If people practiced Yoga on a regular basis, it would help everyone. A stress-free and relaxed person has the ability to keep calm in tense situations, and altercations may be avoided. If everyone is in such a state, imagine the transport scenario will also be one which people would look forward to.

#YogaDay Special: How Yoga is beneficial to Public Transport. Share on X

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New Innings for BEST

In another revolutionary move, BEST has decided to focus on becoming more public-transport centric and turn itself from a loss making body to a profitable one. In other words, BEST has decided to become the BEST, by taking on NMMT and TMT head-on.

Update: BEST has announced reduced bus fares and passes from 01-07-16. AC passes are back to ₹150, with a new Child rate for children under 12. Happy Hours have been introduced as well. More details here: BEST Fare Revision 2016

BEST has decided a reshuffle of its AC routes, cancelling two, reconsidering a few and proposing a few more!

Now, the interesting thing is that BEST is reconsidering two routes via T2 of the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport. BEST earlier ran dedicated AC express routes from the airport such as A1Express from T2 to CBD Belapur Bus Station and A14Express to Cadbury Junction. Among the routes being canceled are A76Express from Gorai Depot to NSCI Worli via the Bandra Worli Sea Link and AS592 from Kopar Khairane to NSCI Worli. Routes that almost got scrapped include:

  • AS9 from Ghatkopar Depot to Dr. Shyama Prasad Mookherjee Chowk
  • A74Express from Oshiwara Depot to NSCI Worli
  • A75Express from Hirandani Powai to NSCI Worli
  • A77Express from Gorai Depot to BKC Telephone Exchange

Routes that are being proposed include:

  • AS71 from Fishermen Colony, Mahim to Mira Road East, via CSIA T2
  • AS72 from Rani Laxmi Chowk, Sion to Bhayendar East, via CSIA T2
  • As415 from Agarkar Chowk to SEEPZ via Marol Depot

A lit of canceled, proposed BEST AC Routes
A list of canceled, proposed BEST AC Routes

Apart from this, 50 routes across the 27 depots are slated to be cancelled.

What started all this?

A simple change in the BEST committee in the MCGM. After close to a decade, the BJP took over the committee from the Shiv Sena. Rather ironic, given that the Sena is anti-Toll while the BJP is pro-Toll. If you recall, it was the Sena that hiked the fares of BEST in 2015, first in February and then in April in 2015.

A quick recap would show that the BJP has always been adept at providing good transport wherever it has been, be it in the form of the Mumbai-Pune or Ahmedabad-Vadodara Expressways, the BRTS corridors in Ahmedabad, Rajkot, Surat, Bhopal and Indore, BMTC and KSRTC which showed a massive turnaround under R Ashoka, the erstwhile Transport Minister of Karnataka.

Back in 2005, BEST, had introduced the Smart Card system with Kaizen Automation, in the form of the Go Mumbai smart card, which was a common mobility smart card for both BEST buses as well as trains on the Suburban Railway. These were subsequently phased out in favour of the present Trimax system that BEST uses.

Rebranding

BEST, which officially turns 70 in its current form next year, and currently has a debt burden of ₹2,250 crore, plans to change its logo as well the colour of the buses in a major move to rebrand itself.

BEST has written to the Sir JJ Insititute of Applied Arts, one of the city’s premier art institutes to guide it in the process. The colour change is part of an exercise to make BEST more acceptable among customers.

The Mumbai Monorail, operated by the MMRDA, got the National Institute of Design [NID], Ahmedabad to design its coaches. One hopes that BEST too, would reach out to NID, or maybe even the Centre for Enviornment, Planning and Technology [CEPT], Ahmedabad for some ideas in design and operations.

Passes

Among other changes, are the rates of passes, monthly, as well as daily passes.

While the Major changes are the the reduction of the Monthly AC bus pass from ₹4800 to ₹3300, a significant change is the reduction of the Magic Daily Passes:

  • Magic AC: ₹200 to ₹150.
  • Magic Non-AC: ₹70 to ₹51.
  • Suburban Pass: ₹50 to ₹36.
  • Island City/Town: ₹40 to ₹29.

However, these are valid only during the Happy Hour period of 11am to 5pm.

The question here is, if the pass is cheaper post 11am, nobody would buy a pass before that. An alternative explanation is that passes purchased between 11am and 5pm are not valid during the rest of the day, which is an inconvenience to those who might purchase a pass after 11am, but may need to use it at 9pm. I guess, an official explanation from BEST would be the best thing to wait for.

While, BEST currently has good integration with the Suburban Rail, what is desired it better integration with the Metro, Monorail, and MSRTC services.

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