Aamchi Mumbai Ep. 8

Transportation in Mumbai

When 2.5 crore people call Mumbai their home, seamless transportation becomes very crucial for smooth & effortless commutations. Mumbai has the one of the brilliant transport networks like BEST buses, Mumbai Locals, Metro, networks of Rikshaws, taxis etc. Let us see the engrossing facts of these transport lines which are less known & surprising. 

The Mumbai Locals :

The mega city of Mumbai is incomplete and unimaginable without the superfast Mumbai locals. The local train system makes the city even more vibrant because of its well designed network which commutes around 7.5 million passengers on day to day basis (pre COVID), which is equivalent to Singapore country's total population. The first passenger railway of India ran in Mumbai around 168 years back in 1853 between Mumbai's CSMT (Bori Bunder Station) to Thane. The jaw dropping fact is , it was a part of the first railway network to be built during British era, not just in India, but whole of Asia! The locals are available for the commuters every 4 minutes. The annual ridership of locals come upto 2.64 billion, which is one of the busiest commuter rail systems in the world. Locals are special for its open doors & windows as the ventilation is completely dependent on the natural air and also facilitates fast boarding & free movement as the train halts for only 10 seconds. The trains are flooded with people during the peak office hours with around 14 to 16 standing passengers per square metre of floor space. Overcrowding, quarrels, thefts are the most common everyday issues in locals. The railway tracks & stations of Mumbai are silent only for 90 minutes a day.

 To reduce the risk of fatalities by falling out of the train, longer platforms and frequent trains are being implemented. Also the Local trains cover the gap between platform & the railway route in order to prevent people falling in between the gap. The Locals have it's 4 main designations i.e. slow, fast, semi fast and air conditioned. It also has classes for categorising the passengers such as Class I, Class II, Ladies class, Divyangjan (Handicapped) and for senior citizens etc. System is spread over 465 km with around 2673 rails. 

Most interestingly, if one adds the total distance covered by Mumbai trains in a day, it's equal to going around the earth 3 times!

 Hardworking Mumbaikars travel daily in this busiest rails and it's one of the surreal experience that one must go through in lifetime. Mumbaikars grumble about the issues of train service but can’t even imagine the life without locals. Unfortunately only during the COVID pandemic, when lockdown was announced, the 'Lifeline' of Mumbai had stopped its services for the first time in history. After the lockdown was over & new normal began, the service resumed and many bowed down their heads as a mark of respect and love before entering the trains. Despite of all the crowd & chaos, the Mumbaites are always happy and enthusiastic, which symbolise and demonstrates the essence and vibrancy of the Mumbai city!

The BEST Buses :

The full form stands as, 'Brihanmumbai Electric Supply & Transport' (BEST). The BEST is known for its bus service and electricity supply in Mumbai, which is present in Mumbai for more than 100 years. BEST was originally set up in 1873 as a tramway company and was not a Bus Service Provider. In 1907, first electric tram was started in Mumbai and due to the heavy traffic and crowd, the double decker tram service began in 1920. Later, due to the heavy maintenance cost, tram services were ultimately shut down. The city saw its first bus commuting on 15 July 1926 between Afghan Church and Crawford Market, which surprisingly is the first bus service in India. It was initially known as Bombay Electric Supply & Transport, but after Bombay was renamed as ‘Mumbai’, the BEST was renamed as 'Brihanmumbai Electric Supply & Transport' in 1995. 

The BEST, over the years has become a essential part of Mumbai's transport. The BEST runs over 3,600 buses daily, carrying approximately 4.8 million passengers and with the efficient workforce of 38,000 people. The BEST Transport Museum is located at the Anik Bus depot at Wadala. It operates as India's one of the largest fleets of buses. Recently, under Maharashtra Cabinet Electric Vehicle (EV) policy, the BEST is said to possess numerous electric buses by the next year. "Public transportation in Mumbai is ready to become eco-friendly. By 2023, 50% and by 2027, we aim to have 100% electric bus fleet for Mumbai."- Aaditya Thackeray, Minister for Environment. Maharashtra government plans to add fleet of total of 1,900 electric buses in Mumbai's BEST fleet of electric public transport vehicles by 2022. Till now, some EV charging stations for BEST too are set up in 4 localities in Mumbai. Along with time, the BEST is moving on with electric vehicles policy to reduce the carbon dioxide emissions & become environment & nature friendly service. All these factors makes the BEST the ultimate best in its category. 

Other means of transport :

Mumbai's very own Kaali Peeli i.e. Taxis is an important part of city's transportation. According to the stats, there are around 58,000 taxis in Greater Mumbai and 98,566 in MMR. In & around 1911, taxis were introduced in Mumbai as a replacement to the horse carts. 

Auto Rikshaws are the saviors during the rush hours on the busy streets of Mumbai. Around the city lots of Rikshaws travel daily. The Rikshaw walas, Taxi drivers etc are the backbones of Mumbai as they keep the city running through out, no matter what! These public transport work forces are an essential part of this bustling city, which makes all Mumbaikars somehow reach in time to their destination. 

Mumbai's Monorails were established to expand and enhance the city's transportation network. The Mumbai Monorail is the India's first monorail transport system, Also the Mumbai metro was seen as a supplement for overcrowded Mumbai Suburban Railways.

Here I end this blog post with lots of information about Mumbai's Locals, BEST and many more. Till then, see you all in the next episode of Aamchi Mumbai🧡

#Shambhavi'sTakeOnMumbai

#AamchiMumbai

P. C. : Google Images

         Pinterest