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Public transport in Mumbai involves the transport of millions of its citizens by train, road and water. Over 88% of the commuters in Mumbai use public transport. Mumbai has the largest organised bus transport network among major Indian cities.
Contents
- Bus
- Railway Network
- Metro
- Monorail
- Trams
- Taxis
- Number of taxis
- Taxi Regulations
- Fare Calculation
- Auto rickshaws
- Ferry services
- Air Transport
- References
Mumbai's public transport consists primarily of rapid transit on exclusive suburban railway lines augmented by commuter rail on main lines serving outlying suburbs, the bus services of the three municipalities making up the metropolitan area, public taxis and auto rickshaws, as well as ferry services. A metro and a monorail system have recently been inaugurated. A commercial Seaplane Service has recently been introduced.
Bus
Railway Network
The Mumbai Suburban Railway is the oldest in Asia, founded in 1867. It is owned by Indian Railways and operated by its Western Railways and Central Railways divisions. With a length of 303 km, it has highest passenger density in the world, 6.3 million people daily, which is more than half of daily capacity of Indian Railways. It has four radial lines:
Mumbai railways offer first class commuter transport. First class fares are approximately 10 times the second class fare and therefore tend to be less crowded in the non rush hour period. First class compartments also have slightly better seats than second class. less crowded compartments during non peak hours, the first class compartments are rather more crowded during the peak hour time, as there is a large supply and demand gap.Its notoriously hard to get into the first class compartment as the coach is overcrowded with people hanging out of the doors.
There are also women-only cars (termed 'ladies'), and since 1992, 'Ladies Special' trains with all coaches reserved for women passengers.
The Mumbai suburban railway network is constantly struggling to cope with the growing population.
Metro
In January 2004, a master transit plan was unveiled by the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA). The plan integrated a 146 kilometre-long metro system, of which 32 km would be underground.
In June 2004, government approval was given for a 13-station elevated line between Ghatkopar, Andheri and Versova. In June 2006, the first phase of the Mumbai Metro project was inaugurated. Construction work began in February 2008. A successful trial run was conducted in May 2013, and the system's first line entered operation in June 2014, although some aspects of the project were afflicted by delays and cost issues. The Mumbai Metro ridership started from 8 June 2014
Monorail
The Mumbai Monorail is a monorail system for the city of Mumbai. Construction began in January 2009 and the first operational line was inaugurated on 1 February 2014. It is being contracted by the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority and is the first monorail in India.
There are four lines proposed. The first two are 25 kilometres (16 mi) long. Out of the two, construction on the first line has begun.
Two lines 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) long are to be constructed after the first two have opened.
Additionally, previously planned Mumbai Metro corridors are also being examined to be made as monorail corridors instead of metro by MMRDA due to the dense and congested areas these corridors pass through. The corridors are:
Trams
Trams were an important form of transport until the mid 1960s. They were introduced by the then British government, in the late 19th century and in their heyday, covered many areas of the city. At one stage, their length grew to more than 47 kilometres.
Taxis
Taxis arrived in 1911 to complement horse wagons. Black and yellow Fiat taxis are an integral part of the city's heritage and have been depicted in numerous Bollywood movies. Metered taxis ply throughout Mumbai and have a monopoly from Bandra to Churchgate on the Western line and Sion to Chatrapati Shivaji Terminus on the Central line. Beyond Sion and Bandra auto rickshaws are not allowed and one has to hire a taxi. However, between Sion to Thane and Bandra to Bhayandar, both Taxis and autorickshaws are available to transport passengers.
Mumbai is served by two intra-city highways: Old Pune-Mumbai Highway and Mumbai Ahmedbad Road, a part of National Highway 4.
Number of taxis
About 58,000 in Greater Mumbai and 98,566 in Mumbai MMR.
Classic black and yellow taxi numbers on Greater Mumbai roads had fallen to 20 000 by 2010 as 35,000 new taxis such as Maruti Alto, Wagon R and Omni, Tata Indica and Hyundai Santro joined the ranks. Recently State Transport Authority of Maharashtra State has also introduced on-call facility to book these taxis, one can call 022-61234567 to book black and yellow (Non-AC) and CoolCabs (AC) taxis. Radio cab services have been introduced by some private companies. However these taxis need to be booked in advance by calling their call centre number.
Taxi Regulations
Law requires the driver of an unengaged taxi to take a passenger .wherever they want to go, regardless of distance or time, if the fare meter of the unengaged rickshaw/taxi is in a 'For Hire' mode. The modes were denoted by older mechanical meters in this manner: a) upright – for hire b) half mast – not doing business c) currently hired.
Authorities encourage passengers to make complaints, for refusal to convey, excess fare, tampered meters, fake tariff cards, misconduct by drivers by direct email as well as by a website.
Fare Calculation
A mechanical meter were deciding the fare but now it is replaced with electronic meter, which is proportional to the distance travelled. The basis for the fare calculation for black and yellow (Non-AC) taxi is:
The fare is payable at a multiple of 1.25 (i.e. 25% additional) between midnight and 5 am.
Similarly, the basis for the fare calculation for Cool cabs (AC) is:
The fare is payable at a multiple of 1.25 (i.e. 25% additional) between midnight and 5 am.
Auto rickshaws
Auto rickshaws play an important role of public transport in Mumbai. There are 246,458 black and yellow metered auto rickshaws, often simply called autos, in the Mumbai MMR as of 2008. Since 2002, all auto rickshaws have been required to use CNG as fuel. However, not all rickshaws comply. Mumbai MMRDA extends up to Alibag, Badlapur, Kaylan M.C. and Ulhasnagar M.C., and in these areas a CNG filling facility is not available, hence the fuel is either petrol or LPG.
Auto rickshaws are not permitted to enter Old Bombay. The southernmost points accessible to them are Bandra Fire Station in Western Mumbai and Sion Bus Depot in Central Mumbai. Auto rickshaws registered in Mumbai are not allowed travel beyond the municipal limits. They have been allowed to travel between Sion to Mulund in the Central Suburbs and up to Mankhurd on the Harbour line. People who wish to travel beyond Mumbai to suburbs like Vashi, Airoli have to catch a suburban rickshaw. In the western suburbs they are allowed to travel between Bandra and Bhayandar only.
A mechanical meter decides the fare and is proportional to distance travelled. The regulation for auto rickshaws is similar to taxis, and methods of complaining against the auto rickshaws and taxis are available on the Mumbai RTO website.
Ferry services
Air Transport
The Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport (formerly Sahar International Airport) is the main aviation hub in the city and the second busiest airport in India in terms of passenger traffic. It handled 30.74 million passengers and 656,369 tonnes of cargo during FY 2011–12.
The new integrated terminal T2 was inaugurated on 10 January 2014 and opened for international operations on 12 February 2014, increasing the capacity of the airport to 40 million passengers annually. A dedicated six lane, elevated road connecting the new terminal with the main arterial Western Express Highway was also opened to the public the same day. The proposed Navi Mumbai International Airport to be built in the Kopra-Panvel area has been sanctioned by the Indian Government and will help relieve the increasing traffic burden on the existing airport.
The Juhu Aerodrome was India's first airport, and now hosts a flying club and a heliport.