http://img29.imageshack.us/img29/9228/77399376.jpg

Hindustan Times

http://img12.imageshack.us/img12/7049/84354779.jpg

Indian Express

http://img683.imageshack.us/img683/2448/62622481.jpg

Hindustan Times

Imported Air-Conditioned State transport buses- to be completed within one year

Please have Volvos or something similar.

http://img6.imageshack.us/img6/5336/64771731.jpg

Hindustan Times

http://img402.imageshack.us/img402/4821/80009452.jpg

Indian Express

http://img402.imageshack.us/img402/4821/80009452.jpg

Indian Express

That's outright silly. Can't the maharashtra govt intervene and sort out the issue?

http://img198.imageshack.us/img198/2740/img1tl.jpg

another 250 kms of monorail :nuts:

What do they mean by "gifts city"? Retards.

lol. construction of seven metro lines to start by year-end. if it happens i will give a big sloppy kiss to the mmrda chief, but honestly i would be happy if they start work on 1-2 lines

http://img198.imageshack.us/img198/2740/img1tl.jpg

another 250 kms of monorail :nuts:

Can these proposed water transport facilities (Hovercrafts/catamarans etc) provide any relief to the harried Mumbaikars who live on both sides of the western and central lines (Virar-CCG and Thane-CST) and commute up and down in local trains like packed sardines everyday . I have my own doubts on this.

I'm wondering why they don't do something down the west coast. Like Borivali-Juhu-Reclamation-Worli-Colaba? I dont know where exactly Mandwa is, not even on Google Maps..

^^ msrdc is responsible for water transport on the western side.Last time they had floated atender for water transport on the western front they had received a poor response and they shelved it . It is after bhujbal decided to revive the water trasnport project that mmrda decided to concentrate on the eastern side while msrdc will concetrate on western side.

http://img220.imageshack.us/img220/5509/34991618j.jpg

Indian Express

http://img6.imageshack.us/img6/5336/64771731.jpg

Hindustan Times

^^

I was in Mumbai last November and Meru cab was such a boon. Their call center was nice and quick. Only once I had to hold for about 20mins, but they constantly update you with the queue countdown.

I hope all the auto rickshaws are converted to Nanos or Revas

http://img203.imageshack.us/img203/7087/61742195.jpg

Indian Express

MMRDA to make water transport sail through
DNMUM164208 | 2/27/2010 | Author : Ninad Siddhaye | WC :329

It has been over 25 years when the first plan to start a passenger water transport service in Mumbai was mooted. It was in 1983 when the first feasibility study was being carried out by the state government. Now after many years, the Mumbai Metropolitan Regional Development Authority (MMRDA) has proposed to start the project on the eastern coast. Ninad Siddhaye speaks to MMRDA additional metropolitan commissioner SVR Srinivas about the plans

What was the need to have a passenger water transport project?
Mumbai is fortunate to have a coastline on both the sides of the city. However, unlike many major cities across the globe, Mumbai has failed to take an advantage of this coastline. In fact, we have been putting so much of pressure on our public transport- especially the local railways. The infrastructure of railways has been the same since over 100 years. In other parts of the world, water transport plays a major role as a buffer to main modes of transport. As a regional planning body, we decided to go ahead with the project.

Why could the project not materialise earlier?
As one would expect, this is a green field project and one can not determine about the number of passengers that will actually use it. Though I can not comment about why the project failed in the past, MMRDA has decided on a financial model which will definitely make it a viable project. We are looking at being a facilitator for the Built-Operate-Transfer (BOT) kind of model. MMRDA will acquire land for construction of jetties, construct the passenger terminals and will hand it over to a successful bidder after a tendering process. However, the authority will also keep a tab on the ticketing and other related issues making this system more passenger-friendly.

What are the areas where Mumbai can see this project being implemented?
At the moment, we are looking at the east coast of Mumbai, where the sea is relatively quiet as compared to the west coast. The Maharashtra Maritime Board can be a regulatory body. Though the proposal is with the state government at present for approval, once it is through, Mumbai can see catamaran and hovercraft transport from Navi Mumbai to Ferry Wharf and up to Mandwa on RoRo boats within 18 to 24 months after the tender is awarded. This will allow them to reach faster to places like Vashi, Belapur as well as Alibaug.

source :http://www.3dsyndication.com/showarticlerss.aspx?nid=cz36UxfS0VOuMbiJ5RslWhpZa3dPulslqjqmMXv3dPulsTyyEZfAo=

http://img693.imageshack.us/img693/1952/81204463.jpg

Hindustan Times

Think-tank will work to get BRTS on Mumbai roads

Ashley DMello I TNN

Mumbai: Buoyed by the successful start of the Bus Rapid Transport System (BRTS) in Ahmedabad,a public policy think-tankObserver Research Foundationhas decided to work for its implementation in the city by garnering support from political groups.
Sudheendra Kulkarni,formerly with the Prime Ministers Office during the the tenure of Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee and now chairman of the foundation,said a political consensus needs to be reached on the issue of a rapid low-cost bus transport system for the city.If the BRTS has proved to be a successful mode of transport in developing cities around the globe,why cant it be implemented in Mumbai he said.
Kulkarni,who was speaking at a round-table conference titled,BRTS for MumbaiWhy we mustHow we can, pointed out that mega projects have attracted both politicians and the public
A campaigner for low-cost transport,Sudhir Badami,and Ashok Datar of the Mumbai Environment Social Network said the Rs 5,000 crore Worli-Haji Ali Sea Link would exclusively serve car users,while the BRTS system that would benefit millions of bus commuters was being neglected.Speakers included Abhijit Lokre,urban planner from Ahmedabad who pointed out that his city got the BRTS because of the Gujarat governments political will.
The BRTS has become a boon to commuters in cities as far apart as Bogota and Istanbul, said Madhav Pai of the Centre for Sustainable Transport.Dario Hidalgo,senior transport engineer with the World Resources Institute in Washington,said that while the BRTS in Pune and Delhi were plagued with problems,the Ahmedabad one was off to a fine start.
Transport planner R Ramana pointed out that the MMRDA,which was supposed to implement the system in the city,passed on the responsibility to the BMC and the BEST

source :Times of India

http://img28.imageshack.us/img28/5525/79403738.jpg

Indian Express

interesting..

Minister wants to drive out autos
Sanjeev Shivadekar, TNN, Mar 3, 2010, 05.28am IST
MUMBAI: If the state cabinet approves, rickshaws will soon be a thing of the past in the city and the rest of Maharashtra. The transport department has proposed to get rid of the ubiquitous three-wheelers and replace them with four-wheelers.

“Auto permits will not be renewed if the owners do not replace their vehicles with four-wheelers,” said Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil, the state transport minister. Reason: According to the minister, the move will reduce the number of fatal accidents and curb pollution. The proposal will soon be taken up before the state cabinet for its approval, Vikhe-Patil said. “Before amending the law to discourage the use of three-wheelers in the state, we will include suggestions by our cabinet colleagues,” he added.

To ensure that the rickshaw owners are not financially burdened, the minister said, “Those who upgrade their vehicles will not have to pay anything extra. They will be charged the existing three-wheeler permit fee and taxes for registering their new four-wheelers.’’

Expectedly, the rickshaw union is unhappy with the phase-out proposal. “There is a hidden agenda behind this move. If autos can ply in Singapore and Bangkok, why should it be banned in Maharashtra? We will oppose the move,” said Sharad Rao, president, Mumbai taxi and auto union.
Incidentally, the state transport department, which has imposed age restriction on taxis, now wants to impose similar curbs on autos too.”To control pollution, autorickshaws that are over seven years old will not be given permission to ply on the road. The permit will be renewed only after the vehicles are upgraded (to four-wheeler),” the minister said.

Also to ensure the safety of passengers, especially those rickshaws ferrying schoolkids, the department has made it mandatory for such vehicles to have fibre or steel body, instead of the existing rexine cover on the top. This suggestion has been mentioned in the school bus policy of the state, the minister said.


TOI

It will be a good riddance.

:banana:

might go more to the burbs if this happens

Would take more than that me thinks :)

Definately a very good idea. These nuissance turtle resembling vehicles are half the Mumbai's traffic woes.

Will be a good idea if they implement it properly . If they are going to replace the rickshaws with nanos or cars.Then there is going to be more traffic chaos especially in the suburbs and parking problems ,add to that increased fares. Instead of replacing rickshaw with cars ask best and railways to train this rickshawallas who will lose their rickshaws and use them as drivers, conductors,motormen, station masters as both of theses public services are highly understaffed .

:banana:

might go more to the burbs if this happens

http://img90.imageshack.us/img90/1110/87502345.jpg

Hindustan Times

Nice, we seem to be getting those new buses that are coming to Delhi (the red ones)

^^lets wait and see till end of march . b.e.s.t is known for introducing rehashed Ashok leyland junk buses as swanky .I am very skeptical about b.e.s.t's definition of swanky when it comes to introducing new buses.

hmm great news....did anyone has update on BEST for CCTV and 2 Screens(LCD) installation in all Best buses....I mean did they installed in every bus????

^^not on all buses just abt 15-20% of the buses

You mean those little screens in the front of the bus that play random Hindi movies?

http://img32.imageshack.us/img32/1309/84045730.jpg

Hindustan Times

We don't really have a specific thread for bus transportation in Mumbai, so I guess this is the best place (no pun intended) to ask my question.

Can anyone explain to me what all the numbers on a bus ticket mean? All I can figure out is that the number in the middle is the fare (plus 15 paisa tax). I'm perplexed at the 52 other numbers (are they telling you where to get off?) and the 9 digit number at the top. Here's a ticket for reference. Also what are the words written next to the arrows mean?

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2400/2220660103_83bfd0a95c.jpg

:double post:

We don't really have a specific thread for bus transportation in Mumbai, so I guess this is the best place (no pun intended) to ask my question.

Can anyone explain to me what all the numbers on a bus ticket mean? All I can figure out is that the number in the middle is the fare (plus 15 paisa tax). I'm perplexed at the 52 other numbers (are they telling you where to get off?) and the 9 digit number at the top. Here's a ticket for reference. Also what are the words written next to the arrows mean?

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2400/2220660103_83bfd0a95c.jpg

lol. Of course this is the thread for the buses. Title itself says surface transportation.

My guess is that these numbers mean a small group of bus stops (2-4) which have common fare. Take a hypothetical example. Suppose first slab of fare is 5 Rs and it is valid till 3 groups. And assume that all groups comprise of 3 adjacent bus stops. That means your fare will change after 3 groups (or 9 bus stops). If you board a bus from 1-3 stops (first group) and disembark at 10-12 (fourth group) bus stops you will have to pay the fare of second slab. Whether you board from stop 1,2 or 3 or disembark on 10, 11, 12, it won't make any difference as they belong to a particular group. That's how fare structure works. I guess these numbers correspond to these groups.

^^ Well, there are different tickets for different fares so not sure if that is it.

If I'm not mistaken, the first number is where the passenger gets on and the second is where they get off, probably the station number on the route. The number at the top is probably just a ticket number. Not sure what the writing in the middle is. Perhaps the depot name?

Either that or its just stuff for the TC to click so they feel important. :)

^^
Once you tell the conductor, the destination. He refers to the route card on the lid of his ticket box, if he is not familiar with the route.

As far as I know, the driver and conductor usually work about 6 months on the route to prevent corruption.

Every stop is numbered, the conductor punches the number based on the stop number.

In the middle bottom of the ticket, the arrows refer to the to-destination on the left and from-destination on the right for the route.

The 9 digit ticket on the top is the lot number of the ticket, that is noted by the depot to check with sale of ticket and also for customer complain.The conductor notes the number at the end of the shift before handing his ticket box and fare sheet.

I don't think these numbers represent bus stops as the numbers end at 25. What if there are more than 25 stops in a route ? These numbers should represent small groups of stops rather.

:banana:

might go more to the burbs if this happens

we dont want you

go back :tongue4:

lol only joking.you are most welcome....

I think these buses should not be rolled out. It will lead to a rise in ticket prices. You need to keep things at an affordable level due to the north south layout of mumbai

^^koresh is probably right.They probably do represent the stop numbers Because I have noticed whenever i have purchased the ticket he usually asks which stop i got in the bus and which stop I am getting down and punches the corresponding number on the ticket.The tc then checks whether tickets are punched properly or not. dont know waht they do if there are more than 25 stops on the route.

image shacks gone wiered so..
anyway New a/c buses very comfortable.
Mechanicaly rubbish.Cant go up hills at all , so useless on flyovers.everything passed us.


Sounded like a non turbo ashok leyand bus engine.Had to over rev alot so a tad noisy.




http://img534.imageshack.us/img534/1051/p1020283.jpg (http://img534.imageshack.us/my.php?image=p1020283.jpg)


http://img687.imageshack.us/img687/1899/p1020284j.jpg (http://img687.imageshack.us/my.php?image=p1020284j.jpg)

No one seemed to be bothere about the polythene

http://img199.imageshack.us/img199/3492/p1020285w.jpg (http://img199.imageshack.us/my.php?image=p1020285w.jpg)

http://img59.imageshack.us/img59/6352/p1020286.jpg (http://img59.imageshack.us/my.php?image=p1020286.jpg)

http://img59.imageshack.us/img59/2509/p1020287x.jpg (http://img59.imageshack.us/my.php?image=p1020287x.jpg)

http://img191.imageshack.us/img191/7088/p1020288i.jpg (http://img191.imageshack.us/my.php?image=p1020288i.jpg)

obviously had some leeks, now taped up....

http://img189.imageshack.us/img189/927/p1020289p.jpg (http://img189.imageshack.us/my.php?image=p1020289p.jpg)

http://img694.imageshack.us/img694/7756/p1020290i.jpg (http://img694.imageshack.us/my.php?image=p1020290i.jpg)

http://img718.imageshack.us/img718/6393/p1020291.jpg (http://img718.imageshack.us/my.php?image=p1020291.jpg)

http://img534.imageshack.us/img534/3505/p1020295y.jpg (http://img534.imageshack.us/my.php?image=p1020295y.jpg)

http://img203.imageshack.us/img203/9751/p1020296o.jpg (http://img203.imageshack.us/my.php?image=p1020296o.jpg)


http://img692.imageshack.us/img692/2905/p1020298s.jpg (http://img692.imageshack.us/my.php?image=p1020298s.jpg)

Overall immpression?
Just do what bangalores done and use volvos.

The long routes are all limited buses. There are very few long routes with ordinary buses.The conductor punches the last number.

On a ordinary bus, you will see the fare chart fits on that ticket box lid hence there cant be too many stops. Also they have stages for the fare.

Unless someones wants to do Mumbai Darshan on a BEST bus , most mumbaikar's travel short distance or take limited buses.

^^koresh is probably right.They probably do represent the stop numbers Because I have noticed whenever i have purchased the ticket he usually asks which stop i got in the bus and which stop I am getting down and punches the corresponding number on the ticket.The tc then checks whether tickets are punched properly or not. dont know waht they do if there are more than 25 stops on the route.

Of course they won't ask you the group number as you are not expected to know that. If you tell that you want to go from stop A to B, then he will calculate (or probably remember) that you want to go from 16th stop to 43rd stop of the route, which should lie in 6th group and 15th group, so he will charge the price for (16-5) = 9 groups. Thats how ticketing works, otherwise it will be nightmare to calculate fares for every single stop (for example DTC's Outer Mudrika route has about 200 stops, all in Delhi). It's more like zone system but not precisely that.

The older kinglong buses are crap .The newer one are tad better as in less noisy but volvo buses are much better .if NMMT can purchase volvos .Why can't these idiots?

^^NMMT is a government body. Has got enough public money in the bank to buy Volvos. BEST is a private org. If it can do away with a bullockcart instead of chopper it'll do it.

BEST is not private. its under the bmc

^^
Once you tell the conductor, the destination. He refers to the route card on the lid of his ticket box, if he is not familiar with the route.

As far as I know, the driver and conductor usually work about 6 months on the route to prevent corruption.

Every stop is numbered, the conductor punches the number based on the stop number.

In the middle bottom of the ticket, the arrows refer to the to-destination on the left and from-destination on the right for the route.

The 9 digit ticket on the top is the lot number of the ticket, that is noted by the depot to check with sale of ticket and also for customer complain.The conductor notes the number at the end of the shift before handing his ticket box and fare sheet.

Ah yes, so I was pretty close.

I don't think these numbers represent bus stops as the numbers end at 25. What if there are more than 25 stops in a route ? These numbers should represent small groups of stops rather.

Actually the number ends at 26 but anyways, perhaps there are not more than 26 stops on a route? Either that or anything over 26 is a flat price.

BEST is not private. its under the bmc

Sorry about it. My mistake. But it is still an autonomous body with its own organizational structure.

MMRDA plans to build jetties
Ashley D’Mello | TNN

Mumbai: The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) is pushing ahead with its plan to develop water transport on the east coast via the Public Private Partnership route by first developing jetties and then letting the operator run roll-on rolloff services.
Senior MMRDA officials said they will seek rapid development of transport from Ferry Wharf to Mandwa, which will shave off over an hour from the current time it takes vehicles to go from Mumbai to Mandwa.


http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Default/Scripting/ArticleWin.asp?From=Archive&Source=Page&Skin=TOINEW&BaseHref=TOIM/2010/03/09&PageLabel=11&EntityId=Ar01106&ViewMode=HTML&GZ=T

Actually the number ends at 26 but anyways, perhaps there are not more than 26 stops on a route? Either that or anything over 26 is a flat price.

Maybe these numbers correspond to bus stops but I am sure of this fact that ticket pricing is based on bunches of stops rather than individual stops in Delhi and I believe elsewhere. It is herculean task to devise and implement pricing mechanism based on individual bus stops.

The older kinglong buses are crap .The newer one are tad better as in less noisy but volvo buses are much better .if NMMT can purchase volvos .Why can't these idiots?

I guess it is because Volvo does not have CNG Version.

Maybe these numbers correspond to bus stops but I am sure of this fact that ticket pricing is based on bunches of stops rather than individual stops in Delhi and I believe elsewhere. It is herculean task to devise and implement pricing mechanism based on individual bus stops.

That may be the case but it really doesn't matter as the ticket is simply showing where the passenger got on and is getting off. I figured the fare must be based on the number of stops in between, doesn't seem so "herculean".

I think in Mumbai the bus lines are more short routes, if you want to go farther you tak =e limited buses. So maybe there are never more than 26 stops? But that still seems unlikely. Go to www.bestundertaking.com they have info on all the lines there.

MMRDA plans to build jetties
Ashley D’Mello | TNN

http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Default/Scripting/ArticleWin.asp?From=Archive&Source=Page&Skin=TOINEW&BaseHref=TOIM/2010/03/09&PageLabel=11&EntityId=Ar01106&ViewMode=HTML&GZ=T


This is GREAT news for Mumbai.

I'm really looking forward to the day where we can take a watertaxi to downtown Mumbai

That may be the case but it really doesn't matter as the ticket is simply showing where the passenger got on and is getting off. I figured the fare must be based on the number of stops in between, doesn't seem so "herculean".

Herculean for the conductor. If there are 30 stops in a route, then every time conductor will have to calculate like this - 24th stop minus 6th stop = 18 stops and so on for calculating fare. And for that he has to remember all the stops with their serial numbers. But if the stops are divided in 10 groups, then his job becomes easier.

Abhi I really dont think.....this is very big task for them as far my own experience in BEST they dont even think much while punching the ticket.......I dont know how they work....how they remember.....but whenever see them doin it....it doesnt seem big task.....looks very easy...

Practice makes a man perfect :). It's an integral part of their job and they can't afford to lose time to start calculating when there are lots of people standing to purchase tickets. They have to remember and recall all that quickly.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2400/2220660103_83bfd0a95c.jpg

The conductor know the stops, its a daily route for them. He can punch twice, for example 20 and 10 is stop 30.

It very rare to have a route of so many stops in Mumbai and the patronage will be poor for such a route, BEST makes changes to such route frequently.

Example

363 Com. P. K. Kurne Chowk (worli) Mahul Village (Refinery)
was one such route, Starting at Worli, Prabadevi, Shardarshram School, Plaza cinema, Shivaji Park Matunga, Dharavi, Sion, Chunabatti, Kurla (East), Chembur Colony, RCF colony, Refinery.


There used to be very poor patronage on certain sections, they changed the route later. Don't know the exact route now.

Practice makes a man perfect :). It's an integral part of their job and they can't afford to lose time to start calculating when there are lots of people standing to purchase tickets. They have to remember and recall all that quickly.
They have a fare list for that route with them attached to that dabba they carry .so i dont think they have to or are required to calculate anything.They may have to recall bustop names but they get used to it after some time.

Would it be more efficient (in terms of fast service) if we just installed automatic collection machines on all the buses so that we dont even need a conductor, or will that mean waiting at a stop for too long?

Would it be more efficient (in terms of fast service) if we just installed automatic collection machines on all the buses so that we dont even need a conductor, or will that mean waiting at a stop for too long?

Of course it is more efficient. It not only eliminates the need of having a conductor but also checks fare evasion. DTC is implementing this system on its whole fleet and has already done 2 trials on pilot basis. I guess other corporations will also follow soon if it becomes major success (like how metro's success was followed).

This is the most ridiculous excuse I have come across in long time

http://img697.imageshack.us/img697/8168/78644901.jpg

Hindustan Times

http://img101.imageshack.us/img101/6223/84275062.jpg


http://img19.imageshack.us/img19/8599/37373464.jpg

Hindustan Times

Why are they buying more buses if they aren't able to use all the new ones they just bought?

BS. BEST drivers are horrible. they drive without realising there are other road users

Of course it is more efficient. It not only eliminates the need of having a conductor but also checks fare evasion. DTC is implementing this system on its whole fleet and has already done 2 trials on pilot basis. I guess other corporations will also follow soon if it becomes major success (like how metro's success was followed).

What I mean is, will it take too long to get all those people on the bus and insert their cards versus just getting on the bus?

4700 buses? I thought there were a lot more. BEST needs to just bite the bullet and place an order for a one for one replacement (perhaps 188 less? ;)). Perhaps they should all have (I know some currently do) automatic transmissions to reduce driver fatigue as well.

^^about 800 buses are due this march end and that includes the midi buses mentioned in the article.but there is noplace available or insufficient place to park them.

4700 buses? I thought there were a lot more. BEST needs to just bite the bullet and place an order for a one for one replacement (perhaps 188 less? ;)). Perhaps they should all have (I know some currently do) automatic transmissions to reduce driver fatigue as well.

Heck yeah! The way they have their old stick shift looks like a lot of work. Its time for these people to invest in something better, easier and convenient.

What I mean is, will it take too long to get all those people on the bus and insert their cards versus just getting on the bus?

Do you mean to say buses will have to wait longer at the bus stops as people will have to swipe cards one by one ? I guess people can at once board the bus and as the bus starts moving they can swipe the cards one by one. There must be some space between the doors and the AFC gates or reader machine for people to stand. Let's see how it turns out to be.

^^about 800 buses are due this march end and that includes the midi buses mentioned in the article.but there is noplace available or insufficient place to park them.

So why not remove 800 of the oldest buses in the fleet and replace them with these? If the 800 buses are for the BRTS project then why not use them as regular buses in the meantime?

Do you mean to say buses will have to wait longer at the bus stops as people will have to swipe cards one by one ? I guess people can at once board the bus and as the bus starts moving they can swipe the cards one by one. There must be some space between the doors and the AFC gates or reader machine for people to stand. Let's see how it turns out to be.

Well with the way people board buses in India, all at once, it would be an interesting scene of watching people enter one by one. I don't think it would be a good idea for the bus to start moving. The driver should watch as everyone swipes.

So why not remove 800 of the oldest buses in the fleet and replace them with these? If the 800 buses are for the BRTS project then why not use them as regular buses in the meantime?
they are probably gonna do that

Well with the way people board buses in India, all at once, it would be an interesting scene of watching people enter one by one. I don't think it would be a good idea for the bus to start moving. The driver should watch as everyone swipes.

There are mechanisms to check that also. Ticket checkers can randomly board buses and check with their hand held devices to know whether somebody has swiped a card or not.

There are mechanisms to check that also. Ticket checkers can randomly board buses and check with their hand held devices to know whether somebody has swiped a card or not.

Actually, now that I think of it, if RFID is used they need not use a machine at all. They could get scanned as they walk in and there could be a green/red light that lights up based on if they paid or not so the driver knows to turn them away.

Of course entry would have to be restricted to the front door in that case.

Such RFID technology seems to be more high tech and expensive for this purpose.

Entry will have to be from the front door only in any case of automatic fare collection as the conductor is eliminated.

http://img82.imageshack.us/img82/6941/20255975.jpg

Indian Express

http://img534.imageshack.us/img534/1395/31012010007001i.jpg

14 cos buy bid papers for West Coast water transport

Ashley D’Mello I TNN

Mumbai: The West Coast water transport project, which has been dogged by delays for a while, has got several firms showing interest in it, with 14 of them buying the bid documents. The last date for submission of the papers has been slated for April 15.
According to the plan, this project would connect Nariman Point with Worli,Bandra, Versova and Vasai with the help of swift catamaran and hovercraft services, providing thousands of commuters a transport medium, which is alternative to the road route.
However, officials of the MSRDC, which is implementing the project, did not name the interested companies but only said that some of them were prominent firms. This is the third time in seven years that the project has gone in for bidding. The officials have not given any date when the ground work will be started for the West Coast plan.
Water transport for the city has been a non-starter for the past 10 years, with the MSRDC failing twice to kickstart it, owing to practical problems and court cases. The last attempt saw the MSRDC offering the scheme to a firm, Satyagiri Shipping, but the deal led to court cases from rival firms. As a result, the transaction was cancelled.
Similar to the West Coast, an East Coast water transport project is also in the pipeline and that will be developed by the MMRDA. Under this project, Ferry Wharf will be connected to Mandwa with vessels that will ferry both passengers and vehicles across the sea. The services will be extended to other areas later. The MMRDA, which is preparing a detailed project report on the East Coast, will build the jetties and allow a private firm to operate the services. MMRDA officials said they expect the project to be ready in three years.

In a week, 7-seater black-and-yellows

The city’s cramped five-seater black-and-yellow taxis have come a long way since their introduction before our Independence, to complement horse-wagons.Starting next Monday, black-and-yellows will grow in size, making for seven occupants (including the driver).The State Transport Authority has cleared seven-seater taxis to ply in Mumbai and its metropolitan region.

http://www.hindustantimes.com/rssfeed/mumbai/In-a-week-7-seater-black-and-yellows/Article1-519567.aspx

Mumbaikars press for bus rapid transport system project



Sandeep Ashar / DNASaturday, March 20, 2010 1:26 IST
Mumbai: Civic agencies are dilly-dallying in setting up dedicated bus corridors in the city. But the citizens are pressing for the bus rapid transport system (BRTS). They think it will really help in decongesting the city traffic.
The BRTS was conceptualised as a remedy to Mumbai’s traffic woes eight years ago. But none of the civic agencies has been keen to take over the responsibility of implementing it. The MMRDA carried out a feasibility study, but chose not to implement it. Instead, the MMRDA suggested that the BMC should take up the project.


http://www.dnaindia.com/mumbai/report_mumbaikars-press-for-bus-rapid-transport-system-project_1361128

Nariman Point-Borivli sea route will open in 18 months: MSRDC


Mumbai: For long, the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) has been hoping to set up a sea route from Nariman Point to Borivli. It got the much-needed boost after the government agreed to sign the state support agreement. Now, with many private bidders showing interest in the Rs1,200-crore project, the MSRDC said that it was hoping to start the services in the next one and half years.

Public works department (public undertakings) minister Jaydatta Kshirsagar said that with major hurdles the project should kick off in near future. “With the government agreeing to the state support deal, the bidders will get government guarantee against the money they raise for the project,” he said. “We have also assured the bidders that we will share the responsibility of ensuring safety of the network of various utilities underneath the sea bed. Earlier, the onus had been on the bidders alone.”

As many as 19 companies and consortiums have reportedly purchased the bid documents for the project. Kshirsagar said that the Western Inland Passenger Transport System will have both catamaran and hovercrafts plying between Nariman Point and Borivli. The MSRDC announced that the four-lane north carriageway of the Bandra-Worli Sea Link will be opened on Wednesday.

Kshirsagar made it clear that the MSRDC had not given up on the Mumbai Trans-Harbour Link between Sewri and Nhava Seva. A few weeks ago, the state had announced that the MMRDA will be the nodal agency for the project.

But Kshirsagar said on Monday, “We are very much in the fray, and have been working on it for past three years. Environmental clearance and acquisition of land were handled by the MSRDC.”


http://www.dnaindia.com/mumbai/report_nariman-point-borivli-sea-route-will-open-in-18-months-msrdc_1362268

so how will this work?

hong kong style ferry?

will there be stops at Worli and other areas considering the western freeway?

or is this a direct service from borivali without any stops to nariman point and colaba?

there are no stops between bandra and nariman point i believe. the stops will all be in the suburbs and then straight to nariman point

They will be probably using this .

http://img251.imageshack.us/img251/1698/catamarine.jpg

stops probably at - gorai/borivali - marve/malad - juhu /versova - bandra - dadar /girgaum(???) and then probably worli nariman pt or colaba

^

is that type of boat safe during choppy waters or the monsoon?

A hovercraft will that zoom along, nariman point to borivali in less than 1 hour!!!


i was thinking more like

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d4/YaumatiFerryHK.jpg

source wiki

plus i am guessing if this happens this eliminates the bandra versorva link, unless they somehow ply below it using those hovercrafts, in which case they can also stop at worli etc

^^they will be using that as well in addition to the hovercrafts .no the hover crafts will be off no use during the monsoons when the water is said to be choppy

Another publicity stunt.

Dont think so this has been in planning stages since long... The MSRDC will see to it gets implemented for its sake atleast since its in competition over big ticket projects with mmrda .It wouldnt want to lose this one as well. lets wait and see.

i think if private players are allowed then it will happen.

I think major part will be actually purchasing the boats/hovercraft.

Dont think so this has been in planning stages since long... The MSRDC will see to it gets implemented for its sake atleast since its in competition over big ticket projects with mmrda .It wouldnt want to lose this one as well. lets wait and see.

Dude, I have been reading news about this for a long time. And nothing has been done except news that "this will happen". This is just a stunt because they are in competition with MMRDA over projects.

I'am confident about this one for sure, lets wait and see.

It would be a great boost for public transport if the sea gets used for communting.

at least some traffic will be moved to sea...some breathing space for roads/trains....:)

I'am confident about this one for sure, lets wait and see.

It would be a great boost for public transport if the sea gets used for communting.

Coming soon, snacks, cold drinks on AC buses in Mumbai
PTI, Mar 27, 2010, 11.57am IST


MUMBAI: Feeling hungry on a city bus and have nothing to munch on? Relax as the transport undertaking is contemplating to make available snacks and cold drinks on select routes.

Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) would introduce this service on its AC buses.

"We plan to come out with a service where commuters can have packaged food items like wafers besides cold drinks, mineral water and newspapers. Commuters can avail of this service in King Long buses," BEST Chairman Dilip Patel said.

M/s Creative Concept has submitted a proposal to introduce in-vehicle retailing. The firm will pay the civic undertaking Rs 350 a bus per month, officials said.

"With this, the loss-making BEST aims to rake in some money and attract commuters," a corporator said.

"As there are regular traffic snarls in parts of the city, a commuter can take a bite and relax. We think it (the service) would be a great thing," Patel said.

If all goes well, the BEST intends to introduce the service in all its 270 AC King Long buses.

"It is not yet decided whether machines or sales executives will be deployed. Things are still in initial stages," Patel said.

What we really need is some sort of PSA/Awareness Program promoting public transport among the middle/upper middle classes and explaining how it will ultimately lead to much less traffic issues if everyone leaves their cars at home and rides these luxury buses.

^^About time.the nmmt buses already have this facility.Unless you provide quality service a hassle free service on public transport like best i dont think the upper/middle class will be inclined to dispose off their cars.The next important step would be to implement effectively BRTS as soon as possible on both the highways.

1OU6297_48M

jZ4r5Q-gOqI

rvu9_Qo3CvQ

atqvfKVWB6M

Photo gallary of mumbai skywalk (http://www.dnaindia.com/mumbai/slideshow_work-on-mumbai-skywalks-goes-on_1368892)

^^ awesome!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Uuuugly!

Look at the 4th and the 6th pic. Pillars look almost as wide and big as metro. Were they expecting elephants on the skywalks ?

Thankfully they cancelled seventeen of the skywalk projects in the city.Hopefully they will cancel some more.

Dude, I have been reading news about this for a long time. And nothing has been done except news that "this will happen". This is just a stunt because they are in competition with MMRDA over projects.

Hmm, Like Cov boy i am confident of this one too, lets see if they start it at the intended time. I found few details on this website. http://www.visionmumbai.org/project_details.asp?id=99


Name of the Project Waterway Project
Project Section Infrastructure including transportation
Project Type Infrastructure Projects
Objectives Nariman Point to Borivali and Radio route - routeclub to Nerul
Key Features Route - Nariman Point - Bandra - Juhu - Versova - Marve - Borivli (Length 45 kms. Route - Radio Club / Ferry Wharf - Nerul (Length - 19 kms.)
Govt. Agency In Charge MSRDC
Executing Contractor MSRDC
Project Cost a) Western Waterways - Rs.1200 crores. b) Eastern Waterways - Rs.230 crores.
Projected date of completion : May 31, 2011

The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority will invite tenders soon for the Eastern Waterways project, waiting only for the cabinet to communicate officially that it is in charge of the project, formerly with the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation that has failed to attract private parties.

The project has a budgetary provision of Rs 100 crore. The modalities were discussed at a “war room” meeting on Monday and the MMRDA expects cabinet approval in a week, a Mantralaya official said.

The MMRDA has proposed two water transport services on the eastern waterfront - the first between Ferry Wharf and Vashi, Neral and Belapur and the second one a roll-on, roll-off (RoRo) ferry service to carry both people and vehicles between Ferry Wharf and Mandva Jetty near Alibaug.

The passenger service would supplement the saturated suburban railway system on the eastern side of the city. The government has a long-drawn plan to start similar services on the western waterfront, too, but it has not moved for many years.

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/mmrda-itching-to-get-started-on-eastern-waterways-project/612126/

COASTAL CONNECT: HOPE STILL FLOATS

Bogged down by uncertainty

Monsoon, Shallow Seas Made Waterway Projects Unattractive For Bidders In Past

Chittaranjan Tembhekar | TNN


Mumbai: An exasperated Maharashtra chief minister Ashok Chavan, upset over the delay in implementing infrastructure projects in the city, on Monday remarked that he has been hearing about Mumbai’s waterway proposals since his college days. Chavan studied science and management from 1972-77, and it was around that time that unsuccessful attempts to start inter- and intracity water transport projects started in the Mumbai region.
In 1972-73, Cidco started a ‘hover marine’ service between Ferry Wharf and Vashi which lasted just a few days. In 1976-77, the MMRDA proposed a service with a jetty in Thane creek, but the plan never took off. Chavan’s father, the late S B Chavan, was chief minister from 1975-77 and must have witnessed these early bumbling attempts at getting a waterway going.
Since then, at least five different studies have either shot down or given the thumbs-up for waterways on the east and west coasts of the city, but nothing much has happened to date.
While the east coast has always got a green signal from consultants, the west coast waterway was initially shot down due to shallow seas near the coast, which would require jetties to extend into the sea. Also, the four months of monsoon made the projects financially unviable and pending environmental clearances also dampened bidders’ interest.
Tenders floated early on by the Mumbai Maritime Board and Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) failed to attract bids. But environmental clearances in the late 1990s paved the way for bidding.
The turning point for both waterways came in 2007 when a Comprehensive Transportation Study (CTS) for the entire metropolitan region—covering rail, road and sea—said that the waterways were not only feasible, but necessary for a city that is increasingly seeing its residents live in far-flung suburbs or in neighbouring towns. The study, commissioned by MMRDA, also said that commuters were interested in waterways, especially on the west coast.
However, owing to legal complications, the state cancelled the contract given to Satyagiri Shipping in 2008.
In the CTS, over 2 lakh commuters in the western suburbs favoured water transport over road and rail. On the western seafront, the total daily passenger use, estimated for the base year 2005 and horizon year 2031, was 97,000 and 1.39 lakh, respectively, for catamarans and 89,000 and 1.27 lakh for hovercrafts.
“These bidders have requested relaxed conditions. We are considering the options to make it financially attractive,’’ said an MSRDC source. Transport expert Ashok Datar said, “I agree that shallow water and the monsoon are problems for the financial and technical feasibility aspects. But the state must devise a financial model taking into account these problems to create interest among bidders.’’ He added that waterways cause less pollution than road traffic.
Interestingly, there seemed to be poor interest from passengers from areas like Navi Mumbai, Thane and the island city, according to the CTS. The total daily usage estimated for the base year 2006 and horizon year 2031 was 6,653 and 10,391 passengers, respectively, for catamarans and 5,895 and 10,068 for hovercrafts.

WEST COAST PROJECT GATHERS STEAM
MSRDC has invited bids, for which May 30 is the deadline. Winning bidder will get two years to start the service
Entire project is expected to cost around Rs 1,200 crore
Deadlines for bids have been extended thrice, but that has been blamed on the past financial slowdown. Currently, around 22 private companies have bought tender forms
The stations would be at Nariman Point, Bandra, Juhu, Versova, Marve and Borivali. Charkop would have a maintenance and repair station
The catamaran or hovercrafts should accommodate up to 300 passengers and travel at speeds higher than 30 knots. But initially, seven to eight hovercrafts with a 100-passenger capacity would be commissioned
Vessels would travel every 10 to 15 minutes during peak hours and at 30-minute intervals at other times
Hovercrafts should cover the Borivili-Nariman Point distance in 50 minutes and follow pollution norms
Services have to run for a minimum of 300 days in a calendar year
Facilities to be provided include terminal buildings, waiting halls, cafeterias, restaurants, book stalls, fire fighting and safety wings, navigational aids, communication system
The winning bidder will get 30 years to recover the investment and earn profits. After that, MSRDC will operate the waterway

BACK TO DRAWING BOARD FOR EAST
On the eastern seafront, the MSRDC recently pulled out and the MMRDA is now drawing up plans for a tender
The contractor would have to run catamarans or hovercrafts from Ferry Wharf in Mumbai to Belapur, Vashi, Nerul and Mandva on the mainland. Later, there would also be services to JNPT and Uran
Each craft would be able to carry 150 to 300 passengers. It is not known if the services can be run during the monsoon
MMRDA also plans roll-on and roll-off services that would allow commuters to load cars on boats and take them to Mandwa
The MMRDA has allocated Rs 100 crore for the overall project in the 2010-11 budget. MMRDA will develop passenger terminals at Vashi, Nerul, Belapur, Mandwa and Ferry Wharf, and subsequently in JNPT and Uran
A tender will be issued inviting bidders, but ticketing would be controlled by the state government, said MMRDA officers

38 YEARS OF SAILING NOWHERE
In 1972-73, Cidco started Mumbai’s first waterway project with a ‘hover marine’ service on the east side, between Ferry Wharf and Vashi. It lasted just a few days In 1976-77, MMRDA planned an inland transport service with a port and jetty in Thane creek. The plan didn’t take off The Vice Admiral N P Dutta committee reported in 1982 that the project was not feasible for the west coast (especially during the monsoon), because of shallow waters near the coastline. Jetties would have to be built in the sea The same committee reported that the project was possible on the east side, between Ferry Wharf and Vashi, Gateway of India and Uran, and Colaba and Navi Mumbai Between 1980 and 1985, private boat and catamaran operators started services between Ferry Wharf and Vashi, and Gateway of India and Belapur. They lasted for about a decade From 1988 to 1990, a joint venture of private companies started hovercraft operations from Juhu to Belapur via Nariman Point, but stopped due to financial problems Between 1988 and 1990, Cidco’s Kirloskar Consultants and W S Atkins, the consultants for a transport study for the Mumbai region, recommended fast ferry services to Navi Mumbai In 1992, the east and west coast projects were transferred from the Mumbai Maritime Board to MSRDC In 1994-95, the MSRDC’s consultants said that both east and west coast projects were possible. However, there was insufficient response to two tenders In the late 1990s, environment clearances were got for jetties on the east and west coasts A comprehensive transport study, done from 2005-07 and commissioned by the MMRDA for the metropolitan region, said both waterways were feasible and needed In 2008, a contract awarded to Satyagiri Shipping for west coast transport was cancelled by the state after legal controversies and consortium issues In 2009, MSRDC issued another tender inviting bids for the west coast project. The deadline is May 30, 2010 In February 2010, MSRDC abandoned plans to run a service between Colaba and Nerul due to non-availability of land. The MMRDA is now planning ferry services for the east side



http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Repository/getimage.dll?path=TOIM/2010/04/28/6/Img/Pc0060700.jpg

source : Times of India

its a good plan on paper

Even though massive investment on the roads, if there is no strict rules and it's implementation mumbai traffic will be chaos.

Mumbai traffic police should pop in and should take some serious actions now.
There might be thousand of rules, who cares unless until it's implemented on the ground.

Here is what I observed

1. Express highway, Freeways are meant for fast movement of traffic. The roads are also well meant, but what the auto rickshaws are doing there. Auto rickshaws in this road should be banned completely.
2.The left most lane in the express highways will be dedicated for 2 wheelers. four wheelers in the left most lane should be banned unless one is taking left exit.
3. No parking on the expressways and it's exits unless it's urgent with flashing lights on the cars.
4. There should be special traffic police team who will monitor the speedy ways traffic
5. At all the traffic signals stop lines before the pedestrian pass and vehicles must stop before the stop line when traffic signal is red. Cross of this line should impose a heavy fine, say at least 500+ depending on the road and the message should be displayed at the signal post. Traffic police should impose the fine at randomly to all the vehicles who disobey the law.
6. Please try to simplify the rules and make it straight forwards, no lots of IFs,BUTs or exceptions.
7. Say it loud: publish the laws in media and sell the traffic rule books in nominal price.
8. Increase the fines min to 500 rupees and say it loudly in media, so that people will aware of the fines.
9. Make the fine collection online or over the counter. Incentives will be provided to the traffic police based on the she/he collected revenue.(this I will elaborate in my ext posts).
10. Heavy fine, I mean at least 1000 rupees plus for who goes in the reverse road.

Look at the other countries how much they fine if you disobey the traffic rules.

It's not the disobeying the rules it's creating threats to others.
Guys, what's your thought on this.

BEST route rejig on anvil to boost revenue
Organisation Plans To Introduce More Buses In Areas With Higher Passenger Density, Divert Loss-Making Services
Somit Sen | TNN

The BEST plans to restructure its bus routes across the city, introducing more new routes in areas where passenger density is high and discontinuing some of the loss-making routes.
Speaking to TOI, Om Prakash Gupta, who recently took over as BEST general manager, said, “I have asked the planning department to conduct a detailed study on all the 350 routes across Mumbai. We will look into various factors such as revenue generation, passenger needs, conflicts with other bus routes and need to introduce new buses in areas where there is a greater demand for BEST services.”
For example, at least six routes—which include those connecting north and south of Mumbai and the Eastern suburbs to the Western suburbs (where railways have no role to play), are profit-making. BEST plans to introduce more buses on these routes to ease passenger rush during morning/evening peak hours. The highest revenue generating route in recent months is 507 Ltd, which operates from Santa cruz station in the western suburbs to Nerul in Navi Mumbai. The longest route in Mumbai is the one from Hiranandani complex in Thane to Backbay depot. In fact, all buses plying from Thane to south Mumbai are huge revenue earners for the transport body as there are dedicated passengers who travel daily to office in these airconditioned buses.
A senior BEST official from the planning department said there were buses which ran parallel to each other on several routes and some of them could be diverted or discontinued. “We are preparing a list of such routes and this will be announced shortly,’’ he said.
The organisation plans to withdraw some routes which fetch not more than Rs 20,000 to 25,000 per month.
“We receive feedback from passengers and depending on the need, will introduce new bus routes in upcoming residential colonies,’’ Gupta said.
The BEST also runs feeder routes, which connects densely populated residential areas to the nearest railway station. More buses are likely to be introduced at stations in both eastern and western suburbs. “The BEST will ensure that a bus is always waiting for a passenger rather than having it the other way round,’’ a senior official said.
The BEST is also keen on operating new routes which run parallel to the Metro and Monorail routes. At present, it runs a trunk route—which runs north-south parallel to the Central/Western/Harbour lines.
Gupta will prepare the final route chart after seeking suggestions from divisional officers and commuters and appraising financial viability at the depot level.
The last re-structuring of routes was done in 2007, when some of the bigger routes, such as the one from Borivli to Colaba, were fragmented into two to three smaller routes.
PUSH TO PROFITS Longest BEST route Shortest route
Route No 813 (AC) | From Hiranandani Route No 631 | From Kurla complex in Thane to Backbay depot (West) station to Mathurani (circuitous route of 49.3 km) Estate (1.3 km)
Highest revenue generating route:
Route No 507 Ltd | From Santacruz station to Nerul (Rs 51 lakh per month)
Lowest revenue generating route:
Route No 216 | From Prabodhankar Thakre Udyan in Sewree to Swami Narayan Mandir in Dadar (not more than Rs 10,000 per month)
Route connecting the maximum hospitals/medical centres :
Route No 166 | From Tardeo to Antop Hill (covers Mahatma Gandhi hospital, LT hospital, CGS dispensary among other medical centres)
Route connecting a network of large number of schools and colleges:
Route No 9 | From Dr SP Mukherji Chowk to Antop Hill .
To introduce any new BEST route, the transport body has to check the following
It should be not be a private road and has to be maintained by the civic corporation The road has to be “bus worthy” and wide enough to allow passage of two vehicles at a time There should be no overhead obstructions in the form of cables/tree branches
There should be an adequate number of streetlights on the road Manoeuvering of the bus should be comfortable and there should be no blind corners
There should be a good turning circle at the terminating point for reversing the buses

http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Default/Scripting/ArticleWin.asp?From=Archive&Source=Page&Skin=TOINEW&BaseHref=TOIM/2010/06/07&PageLabel=4&EntityId=Ar00400&ViewMode=HTML&GZ=T

The state owned Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) has approved the construction of a skywalk over the Kapurbavdi junction if the claims of Rajan Vichare, the MLA from the Thane constituency are taken for real. The MLA has maintained that the proposal is now lying with the state government for consideration and start of work.

The Shiv Sena MLA claimed in a recent press release that he had been following up on the proposed skywalk project ever since he got the representation of the city in the state legislative assembly. It was due to his efforts and follow ups that the MMRDA decided to take up the proposal in principal.

source n full article

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/City/Thane/MMRDA-approves-Kapurbavdi-skywalk-/articleshow/5900069.cms

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2010/06/02/stories/2010060251240700.htm

WI-FI RIDE.

Equifone Solutions is considering offering Internet access to commuters on the buses.

Rahul Wadke

Mumbai, June 1

If you're a new age Mumbaikar who has abandoned the crowded suburban train for the air-conditioned bus service offered by the BEST Undertaking, there is some good news.

Soon you will be able to access the Internet, download music, maps and so on for free while commuting to your destination.

WI-FI NETWORK

Equifone Solutions, the company that has rights to put up TV screens in buses and offer interactive content, is considering offering Internet access to commuters on the buses, with the help of a wi-fi network (a technology that helps connect computers to the Internet, wireless).

Equifone already offers Bluetooth services on buses and has a pilot project running on 150 BEST buses fitted with Bluetooth hubs that can deliver content such as songs, mobile phone applications and a variety of other information to Bluetooth-enabled mobile phones.

Mr Anil Peswani, Director of Equifone, told Business Line, “Currently, we are using GPRS for connecting the buses with servers for internal data usage. However, the speed is very low. Once the 3G and WiMax technologies rollout then it would be possible for us to offer the services to customers. We have rights for offering wi-fi among other connectivity services for 10 years in the buses,” he said.

Mr Peswani said that currently the commuters use data cards that cost a lot of money to connect to the Internet but Equifone services would be offered free of cost, “But before offering the services, we would be addressing the various security issues associated with wi-fi”.

Commenting on the emerging technologies, Mr Sandeep Pimple, Chief Executive Office of Upass, a company that offers mobile phone business solutions, said that passengers while travelling in the buses especially for long distances do not have much to do. Therefore, such technologies that offer entertainment and information will brighten up their journey, he said.

Mr Pimple said that both technologies are bound to pick up in the Indian environment because of their advantages in terms of mobility, ease of use and low operating cost. Though currently metro-centric, these technologies are emerging as effective medium of content deliveries, he said.

...

wow....just awesome.......i never thought of this....wi-fi connectivity in BEST :cheers:

btw does any country/city offers this kind of service that too for free?

wow....just awesome.......i never thought of this....wi-fi connectivity in BEST :cheers:

btw does any country/city offers this kind of service that too for free?

I believe the Boston Commuter Rail is wi-fi enabled. Many of the Boston - New York buses also had wi-fi.

Many of the Boston - New York buses also had wi-fi.

had?

well let them implement it first .It has been delayed by a year.hopefully they will get it implemented as soonas possible.They have started putting up tv screens in the ac buses although the content is poor.

well let them implement it first .It has been delayed by a year.hopefully they will get it implemented as soonas possible.They have started putting up tv screens in the ac buses although the content is poor.

last year i traveled in king-long bus from seepz to mulund, it had LCD.... even i saw 2 LCD screens in normal BEST buses,,,,with cctv(2 camera/bus)... i thought they already did, means installing LCD's in AC buses...

i was talking abt making the ac buses wi-fi enabled.They had decided this last yr they havent implemented it yet.Only abt 10% of the normal and ac buses have lcds and have cctv cameras which are going to be replaced by better ones.I guess best buses are only city transport buses which have cameras in them or do all the new city buses under jnnurm need to have one?

had?

Well, I meant when I was there. Not in Boston now, though I'm sure the buses haven't decided to mourn the loss by pulling out their wi-fis :lol:

^^:lol:

last year i traveled in king-long bus from seepz to mulund, it had LCD.... even i saw 2 LCD screens in normal BEST buses,,,,with cctv(2 camera/bus)... i thought they already did, means installing LCD's in AC buses...

The non AC, non JnNURM, pre JnNURM buses of Bombay had CCTV+LCD back in 2008..
Irritating used to play trailers of Mimoh Chakraborty's Jimmy....

The non AC, non JnNURM, pre JnNURM buses of Bombay had CCTV+LCD back in 2008..
Irritating used to play trailers of Mimoh Chakraborty's Jimmy....

Yep...the B Movie trailer tradition continues, but nowadays they mostly play Chaplin shorts or Popeye cartoons, which are kind of fun

:lol: then wht u thinking they will play.....movie???hehehe :lol:

well those LCD are installed for adv :)

They can show the world cup matches or highlights if possible .They used to show prabhu chawla interviews earlier.

Yep...the B Movie trailer tradition continues, but nowadays they mostly play Chaplin shorts or Popeye cartoons, which are kind of fun

I don't mind watching Chaplin or T&J ....
It's fun.... Better than Mimoh ... :)

Im noticing alot of new rollsigns on BEST buses. Alot more electronic signs and several new routes, including Bus No. 31 which uses BWSL.

In addition they have expanded the Kinglong network and put sleek looking advertising on them to cover the ugly purple coloring. I must say its working pretty well.

^^buddy at least 2-3 pic to le lete...:)

^^buddy at least 2-3 pic to le lete...:)
Amen... A picture = 1000 words..

Amen... A picture = 1000 words..

yes, truly :)

It is a great relief today as the rickshaws are off the roads. I hardly waited a minute at the east-west signal in Andheri against atleast 3 minutes normally.

Though rickshaws are necessary, people are increasingly dependent on it due to lack of effective public transportation and parking space.

It is a great relief today as the rickshaws are off the roads. I hardly waited a minute at the east-west signal in Andheri against atleast 3 minutes normally.

Though rickshaws are necessary, people are increasingly dependent on it due to lack of effective public transportation and parking space.

"lack" wont be good word to use against mumbai public transport....as BEST/Locals has extensive coverage.. its just that they are crowded and slow due to traffic :)

No doubt Mumbai (Calcutta comes pretty close) has the best public transportation infrastructure and culture in India. But definitely, it is not sufficent. Share of public transportation is getting reduced every day.

Instead of targeting the people travelling in cars first, they can target the people travelling in autos/ taxis, since most of these people already use public transportation for part of their commute. If frequent mini buses from stations to nearby places are available, autos can be avioded. I heard Hiranandani, Powai hardly has bus services from any of the nearest stations forcing people to take autos.

And I havent seen a single mini bus in Bandra-Andheri (where it is necessary). Surprisingly, I saw few buses in SoBo, where the traffic is relatively better and disciplined.

Hiranandani have BEST bus service inside township, even i saw my self...but not much as other area's... main reason , I would say over 95% people living in Hiranandani powai have own car,, its one of costliest township in mumbai very posh.... but if you want to go Hiranandani powai,,, u have lots of buses from andheri and kanjur marg.....including AC buses,, I used kinglong myself, and carpool for more than 2 years travelling between thane to andheri thr powai... now road must be wide and concreted(it was part of JVLR).

Not for the residents. There are lots of offices in Hiranandani. Though most of the BPOs and KPOs have thier own transport vehicles for odd shifts, people in regular shifts require public transportation. JVLR is good 1 km from most of the office complexes.

Not for the residents. There are lots of offices in Hiranandani. Though most of the BPOs and KPOs have thier own transport vehicles for odd shifts, people in regular shifts require public transportation. JVLR is good 1 km from most of the office complexes.

There are lot of Buses from Hiranandani to Andheri (less than 10 mins you can get a Bus) I myself have used it for 3 weeks on a stretch + there are many other buses going to Bhandup/Mulund or Dadar Bandra side.

probably as kuwar said the frequency isnt that great and the BEST wont be inclined to introduce more buses on that route unless that route brings more money.

till powai(IIT) frequency is great but inside(which is almost 1 km) hiranadani from powai (IIT gate) there is very less...but till powai....you have lots of buses :)

Also wanted to bring 1 point - I found BEST buses clean and well maintained. The window glasses were almost spotless and the interiors were quiet clean. Are there more cleaner and well maintained Buses in any other city in India ?

I wouldnt say the buses are kept spotlessly clean , but they are atleast much much cleaner than the suburban railway dabbas. The railways should learn a thing or two from BEST on how to keep their fleet well maintained.

Waterway project gets only one bid

The Rs 1,200-crore Inland Water Transport Project again received lukewarm response after only one bidder submitted technical bids for the project. The Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) had postponed bidding twice on request from 17 bidders who showed interest. The earlier date for submission was April 14, which was postponed to May 31 and then to June 21. On Monday, only one bidder, M/s Pratibha Industries Limited, submitted technical details for setting up water transport between Nariman Point and Borivli. The project is aimed at decongesting the city’s transport network on the western front by exploiting waterways between the two points with four terminals in between at Bandra, Juhu, Versova and Marve. “For the third time the project didn’t receive much response. So we will go ahead with the financial bid for the project, although there is only one bidder," said Sonia Sethi, managing director, MSRDC.

The MSRDC has been acting as the nodal agency for implementing the project since 2002. In 2004, a consortium led by Satyagiri Shipping was given the contract for developing water transport but after four years of no real progress the state government cancelled the tender in 2008 saying it did not have confidence in the firm.

Officials say given the risk involved and scale of the project, fewer firms are willing to back their offer seriously.

The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority is looking at developing a similar project on the east coast—between Ferry Wharf at Mazgaon and Nerul in Navi Mumbai — but the government is yet to decide on this. Mumbai is the only coastal city that does not have a water transport alternative. Hong Kong, London, Sydney and Bangkok have successfully exploited waterways.

http://www.hindustantimes.com/tabloid-news/mumbai/Waterway-project-gets-only-one-bid/Article1-561271.aspx

These pals take the BEST ride

In the age of social networking and blogger sites, an interesting friendship group has emerged, which did not happen online, but 'on-a-ride'.

Christened 'Force 551', because they all take the AS-551 bus daily to commute from Navi Mumbai to Andheri (E), the members first got talking about four months ago on the long bus ride. The bond grew stronger with every passing day, and the group members even went for a picnic on Sunday to the famous Gavlideo Waterfall near Ghansoli.

"We are around 30 friends in Force 551, which includes the two BEST bus drivers, and several working class commuters who work in Andheri," said 30-year-old Dipesh Thakkar, a resident of Vashi.

"I find it a very comfortable journey, and the earlier bus driver, Ajay Kanthale (28) always had a cheerful smile for the passengers. Since the ride is good, we started conversing with fellow passengers and the BEST staff onboard, leading to bus ride friendships," said Thakkar.

The present BEST driver assigned to this route, Bajirao Shinde, who also came for the picnic, told TOI: "These passengers talk to us nicely, and unlike on other bus routes, there has never been any argument or fight between the staff and commuters. Hence we have become close friends, thanks to the bus."

Thakkar added that if any one of the regulars misses the bus in the morning, the driver himself suggests that he will stop at the next point where the person can come in an auto and catch the bus.

"While I was driving this Navi Mumbai-Andheri route, I got to know the regular commuters on a first name basis as they are all quite friendly people," said the earlier bus driver, Kanthale, who also came for the picnic.

Force 551 now plans to organise a music concert and do some social work. Looking at this cheerful bunch, it certainly seems like a good bus journey can take you a long way indeed.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/These-pals-take-the-BEST-ride/articleshow/6156433.cms

http://epaper.hindustantimes.com/PUBLICATIONS/HT/HM/2010/07/15/Article//006/15_07_2010_006_003.jpg

and so it goes on...

i have been hearing about '6 months later' since the early 90s

I want to believe the state government......hummm would that be an understatement?

so how will this work?

no stop overs in Nariman point or nearby ?

National Geographic - Megacities : Mumbai Part 1

Transport

-8waJqyvORY

2wHmBAh-XLQ

Xtg7_S9c-DI

fGYEeLVFVm0

_Ij6s1jQx4g

All 5 videos at

http://www.youtube.com/user/EruditeEntertainment


just thought i would post this vid which is a few years old.


Interesting to see that progress has been very slow based on the targets in this video.

These videos came up when BWSL was around 25% complete. Anyways, Old is Gold. :)

hmm great ichi, i was looking for these videos.... nice :)

DVJGxnfrWno

And this I believe was part 6.

I have drooled over this episode so many times :drool:
In fact before I knew that SSC existed, videos like these were the only source of infrastructure info for me.

Water transport bidder sails past tech hurdle

Swapnil Rawal
Posted: Jul 20, 2010 at 0135 hrs IST
Print Email To Editor Post Comments
Most Read Articles
Related Articles

Mumbai Passenger transport on the western waterfront, a project languishing since 2002, has finally found a potential contractor with the sole bidder having met the technical requirements. The Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation is hopeful of awarding the contract by August-end, after looking into the financial aspects.

The bidder is a consortium led by Pratibha Industries Ltd. It would be provided technical support by Inai Kiara Sdn Bhd, Malaysia’s premier dredging company; another member is Kakade Group, a Pune-based real estate developer.

“We’ve completed the technical evaluation and the bidder has met the technical parameters. It has good backing, of a Malaysian firm, for dredging, so we were never sceptical about the technical aspect,” said S B Nage, chief engineer, MSRDC. The Rs 1,200-crore build-operate-transfer project is aimed at taking a major load off the existing transportation system in the city. It envisages an alternate ferry-based route between Nariman Point and Borivali with PWT terminals along the route: Bandra, Juhu, Versova and Marve. Using state-of-the art technology, these futuristic terminals will have facilities such as waiting lounges, bookstalls, refreshment halls, restaurants and cafeterias of global standards.

The MSRDC had been unsuccessful several times in attracting private players. On the latest attempt, it managed to get a sole bid. MSRDC officials said it is natural for projects like PWT to receive few bids because of the scale and the risks involved.

Hopes renewed, Nage said, “The success of the project will be bonanza for Mumbaikar. We are hopeful that in another fortnight, the financial bid will be evaluated, and the contract would be awarded by August-end if it’s as per our estimation.”

http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/water-transport-bidder-sails-past-tech-hurdle/648982/

looking nice. fingers crossed.

wonder what the frequency will be like.

I dont know much about ferry services.

right now there is a ferry service every 15-20 minutes from borivali to esselworld and to marve as well (i think).They basically try to cramp in as many people as possible in the boats.No vehicles are allowed except for cycles and bikes.

right now there is a ferry service every 15-20 minutes from borivali to esselworld and to marve as well (i think).They basically try to cramp in as many people as possible in the boats.No vehicles are allowed except for cycles and bikes.

hmm I think if those services can achieve a frequency of that. A highly organised company might take 10 minutes.....

If it can reach Nariman point in 45-50min it will be very handy.

Rather than one big boat maybe there can be a series of smaller capacity yet fast moving boats carrying 100-200 people.

Water transport project may turn out to be a realty deal

Rajshri Mehta / DNASaturday, July 24, 2010
Mumbai: There are more allegations of land scams landing in the mailbox of the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC). The latest involves a complaint claiming that the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) may be about to award its coveted passenger water transport (PWT) project in Mumbai to a consortium led by Pratibha Industries despite the fact that it was the sole bidder. This is the third time bids have been called.

The CVC’s rules state that single-bid tenders ought not to be accepted in the first instance. Pratibha Industries, an infrastructure and construction company, has been winning several contracts in the Baramati area, the backyard of agriculture minister Sharad Pawar.

The project is an important, eco-friendly mass transit initiative aimed at decongesting the city. It envisages linking the western waterfront of Mumbai with passenger water transport terminals along the route from Nariman Point to Bandra, Juhu, Versova, Marve and Borivli.

Though the MSRDC is yet to make up its mind, rivals allege plans are afoot to award the tender to Pratibha. Critics say the plan is to gift 45 acres of prime land worth thousands of crores to the bidder, who may later demand the right to develop it on the grounds that the transport project is unviable.

Sonia Sethi, MSRDC vice-chairperson, acknowledges that there is a real estate component in the project, She, however, denies that there is any question of it being used for any purpose other than providing transport facilities. “There is very little area that the developers can play with as per the current bid rules. How can I comment on speculation about rules that may be changed in the future?’’ asked Sethi.

As per current bid rules, only 10% of the area earmarked for the water transport terminals can be used for passenger amenities

Ajit Kulkarni, managing director of Pratibha, does not deny a real estate interest. Says he: “The only way the project will become commercially viable is when I exploit the real estate at the terminals through restaurants and malls. I do not see anything wrong in that.’’

The man making the loudest noise is Mohan Shah of Four Seasons Ltd, a pre-qualified bidder who finally didn’t bid as he found the project unviable under the conditions imposed by MSRDC. He has asked the CVC to spike the MSRDC’s move to award the tender to Pratibha - if that happens - for alleged violation of tender guidelines. “To make the project commercially viable, MSRDC recently agreed to the bidders’ request and permitted them to set up shopping centres as part of passenger facilities at the terminals. But how will an operator sustain business during the four months of the rainy season when he cannot operate the craft?’’ questioned Shah.

“Considering that the project will not have any government participation and the ticket charges fixed by MSRDC are high, it is just a matter of time before a company with no experience in the water transport business will request the government to allow them to exploit the prime real estate,” Shah added.

Shah may have a point, especially when one considers the recent land scam involving the City Industrial and Development Corporation (Cidco). Cidco changed the proposed land use from a hotel to a residential complex in Navi Mumbai’s Palm Beach area, apparently to benefit a developer. The state cabinet has since stayed the change.

Sonia Sethi denies charges that MSRDC may be favouring anyone in the PWT project. “For one, MSRDC is only the recommendatory body. The final decision will be taken by the infrastructure committee of secretaries. Second, we have taken expert opinion and it shows that there is no trend nationwide that bars the government from examining a single bid in private participation projects. We have made the process more transparent by asking independent consultant Ernst and Young and our PWT consultant Darashaw to set a financial benchmark - a reasonable amount which MSRDC can accept before we open the financial bid made by Pratibha.’’

The MSRDC relaxed bid conditions by letting the lone bidder induct technical associates (operators) after four months. “This would further jeopardise the project as one has to know the operator’s expertise in operating different kinds of craft in the open seas. It concerns the lives of many thousands of passengers. What would happen to the project if the winning bidder cannot secure the right operator? We cannot have an operator on a trial-and-error basis,’’ said another rival who finally didn’t bid due to viability issues.

Ajit Kulkarni of Pratibha rejects any allegations of funny business. “I have received several proposals (for technical partners). I did not want to tie myself down to a single company before I won the contract. It is a pure business decision and also the rules allow me to do so.”

Conceived in the 1990s, the PWT project has frequently faced rough weather. When the MSRDC first awarded the contract in 2005, the successful bidder, Satyagiri Shipping, failed to honour its commitment. The second time, it received no bids. This time, the decibel level of criticism has already begun to rise.

CVC guidelines on single bids
* In general, single tenders are not acceptable in the first instance.
* If there is only one bid even after retendering, there is need for justification
* There should be no negotiations with the tenderer at all
* Tender can be awarded when the estimated cost based on tendered value is within 5% of the original sanctioned cost. If cost goes beyond 5%, then Union finance ministry’s approval is needed

source : DNA

so whats new? almost every deal in bombay has some land-grab attached to it

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/Sea-commute-plan-rides-wave-of-optimism/articleshow/6234665.cms

UMBAI: After several hitches, Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) officials are saying that the west coast Passenger Water Transport (PWT) project is finally sailing along. The two technical bids of Pratibha Constructions, the only bidder in the latest round, have been opened and the financial bid will be matched with government estimates next week. The number of years the bidders expect to operate the project before returning it to MSRDC will also be looked into.

Commuters in the western suburbs and island city are staring at the possibility of using the sea route within a year to two years if the latest attempt to kickstart the project, estimated to cost Rs 1,200 crore, goes ahead. An earlier contract was cancelled and the second round of bidding saw three extensions.

The first six terminals for the catamarans and hovercraft would be at Nariman Point, Bandra, Juhu, Versova, Marve and Borivli. Work is expected to begin after the monsoon, said MSRDC officials.

The state government has environmental clearances from the Centre and also encroachment-free lands at points where the PWT terminals would be built. As per the blueprint finalised by the MSRDC, the average travel time between Nariman Point and Borivili would be 35 to 40 minutes, depending on the speed of the catamaran or hovercraft used. Tickets between the two jetties would cost Rs 50 to Rs 150 depending on the vessels' speed. Hovercraft are generally faster than catamarans.

A one-way journey on the Bandra-Worli sea-link costs Rs 50, while a two-way pass is Rs 75.

"None of the six coastal lands we have received from the Mumbai Maritime Board for the terminals are encroached. All environmental clearances are ready. The only thing remaining is the issuance of work orders. Work can start after the monsoon,'' said a senior state government official.

The service is expected to be ultimately used by 25,000 to 35,000 passengers daily. "Though tickets will be on the higher side, it will reduce the number of cars on the western road corridor of the city, pollution and fuel consumption,'' said an MSRDC official. According to him more than 1.5 lakh vehicles travel on the western corridor daily.

MSRDC sources said around 35 to 40% of the total investment would be spent on buying catamarans and hovercraft, while the remaining would be spent on infrastructure at terminals. The Nariman Point terminal would be behind the NCPA.

In the initial phases, seven catamarans and five hovercraft would be run. Catamarans have 100-passenger capacities, while hovercraft can accommodate 25 to 50 passengers. Eventually, a total of 20 vessels would be used.

According to Pratibha's proposal, services would run 15 hours a day from Monday to Friday. Vessels would run at 15- to 30-minute intervals during morning and evening peak hours and 30-to 60-minute intervals at other times. On Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays, vessels would run every two hours.

The east and west coast water transport projects were transferred from the Mumbai Maritime Board to MSRDC in 1994-95.

0nly 20K black & yellow taxis left in Mumbai


MUMBAI: The number of Mumbai's iconic black-and-yellow taxis is dwindling by the day. It has dropped by more than 60% in the past couple of years.

Speaking to TOI, Mumbai Taximen's Union leader A L Quadros said, "We had nearly 55,000 taxis in Mumbai until a couple of years ago. Now, there are only about 20,000 cabs on the roads.'' He stated that passengers arriving by long-distance trains found it increasingly difficult to get taxis at Dadar, Mumbai Central and other stations.

He said the reason for the decline was two-fold. Firstly, aged taxi drivers were selling their permits to fleet cab operators, making a profit in the process, and were quitting the profession. Secondly, young drivers were finding it difficult to procure the mandatory licence badge because a new rule stipulates that they produce a 15-year domicile certificate.

"As a result, we have a shortage of drivers in Mumbai. Do you know that hundreds of taxis are lying idle at Mumbai Central, Sion-Koliwada and other parts of the city for the past three months,'' Quadros pointed out. He stated that several taximen were retiring early and their next of kin were not interested in joining the business.

He feared that a large number of taxi permits would be sold to fleet cab operators and that this would sound a death knell for the black-and-yellow taxis.

Quadros has now written to the state government to protect the interests of taxis drivers in Mumbai. "The government had frozen new permits since 1997. But it had promised, through a cabinet decision, to issue 24,000 new permits over a period of six years,'' he stated. This means that the first lot of 4,000 new permits should come by the end of this year. "The government should also relax the domicile rule so that we can have more drivers and taxis rusting in the backyard can be brought back on the roads,'' he added.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/0nly-20K-black-yellow-taxis-left-in-Mumbai/articleshow/6245656.cms

Thats good news in a way....unless the kaali peelis want to upgrade to newer models with electronics meters or go the fleet cab route, they should be allowed to die a slow death...

wow that really good news..... now we can see lots of new taxis.... :)

Lets just hope that the private cabs won't be a ripoff and it would be affordable as well as their popularity increases.

To see the Ambasassadors and the Padmini's still running is a disgrace.
All the old vehicles of the jurassic era should be immediately banned and only allowed to run once a year during the customary Vintage and classic car rallies.

^^ :lol:

Lets just hope that the private cabs won't be a ripoff and it would be affordable as well as their popularity increases.

they are not that expensive dude.

Cause mumbai mmr does have sufficient levels of public transport for there to be a balance.

If they get too expensive, then people will just use their cars/two wheelers.

^^

Pretty cheap for AC cabs- Rs.20 minimum (I think) + Rs.13 per km

In fact it is pretty difficult to get a private cab in the morning. And most of the times we have to wait for 5 minutes (reduced from 20-25 mins) for the call centre to respond.

One can book through internet too. But I always get an apology message saying that there are no cabs.

fares are regulated by the GoM. so they cant be too expensive

^^

Didn't know that. I thought privatized cabs have their own price and might be slightly higher than the yellow/black cabs because of their convenient services.

they are higher than kaali-peelis, but still regulated. much like a/c cabs

they do run on the same taxi driver permits. new taxi permits have been frozen for decades

Borivali may share Andheri RTO load

Ravikiran.Deshmukh @timesgroup.com
Mumbai Mirror 3-08-2010

The State Government is considering a proposal to create a separate RTO office at Borivali,by bifurcating the one at Andheri which is overburdened.
According to an official from the Transport Commissioners office,the Andheri RTO currently registers 200 to 225 new vehicles everyday.The workload is such that the office is not able to handle routine work.
The new office will take care of vehicle registration and issuance of driving licences from Jogeshwari to Dahisar,while the existing office will handle the workload from Bandra to Andheri,he said.
Currently,around eight lakh vehicles are registered with the Andheri RTO.The figure is around six lakh with the Mumbai Central RTO and over 3.50 lakh with the Mumbai-East RTO office at Wadala.
Similarly,the government is also considering separate RTO offices for Vasai in Thane district and Panvel in Raigad district.Both will help lessen the burden of the Thane and Navi Mumbai RTOs.

TAX FOR OLD VEHICLES

ACCORDING TO sources in the Transport Commissioners office,the state is considering a proposal to levy a green tax that will discourage owners from running old vehicles.
The green tax,if endorsed,will be of an amount ranging from Rs 1,500 to Rs 6,000.The money will be utilised for amenities for vehicle owners,pollution control and supply of clean fuel.
Transport Minister Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil confirmed the proposal but declined to elaborate,saying that it may come up before the state cabinet soon.

http://lite.epaper.timesofindia.com/getpage.aspx?pageid=11&pagesize=&edid=&edlabel=MMIR&mydateHid=04-08-2010&pubname=&edname=&publabel=MM

cc wiki

http://i34.tinypic.com/33nw8ls.jpg

Yes . I have even seen BEST written on some of those buses.

yes. one can see JnNURM logo as well on the left side of the bus

JnNURM logo ne bada JURM kiya hai. It needs to be taken down.

State govt to levy green tax on greying vehicles

Sanjeev Shivadekar | TNN
TOI 5-08-2010

Mumbai: Stoking a long-burning debate,the state government on Wednesday decided to levy a green tax on old public and private vehicles in a bid to curtail their use.

Reasoning that old vehicles are serious fume-spewers,the government said it will impose the environment tax on all private vehicles older than 15 years and commercial vehicles plying for at least eight years.Our aim is to get rid of old vehicles plying on the roads and not to collect revenue by imposing taxes on such vehicles, said transport secretary C S Sangitrao.

According to state transport department officials,there are about 1.55 crore registered vehicles in the state.Of these,about 25% are more than 15 years old.The levy is expected to come into effect later this year after the government has amended the Motor Vehicles Tax Act (1958) with the assent of the state legislature.Cabinet approval will be taken if the transport department plans to introduce an ordinance, said Sangitrao.

The tax will hit commercial vehicle owners harder since they are expected to pay the tax every year,compared to private vehicle owners whose turn will come every five years.CNG taxis and autos,however,will be exempted for the first 15 years they are on the road.

Under the proposed law,the owner of a private two-wheeler older than 15 years will have to pay Rs 2,000 as tax;the owner of a private diesel vehicle other than a two-wheeler will have to shell out Rs 3,500;and a petrol vehicle owner will have to pay Rs 3,000.As for commercial vehicles,an autorickshaw owner will have to pay Rs 750 every year;a six-seater taxi owner Rs 1,250;a tourist taxi or light goods vehicle owner Rs 2,500.The owners of heavy vehicles that have a carrying capacity of more than 7,500 kg will have to pay an additional 10% of their yearly tax,while contract bus owners will have to pay an additional 2.5%.

Sangitrao said the governments decision is based on a Supreme Court verdict that demands that old vehicles either be de-registered or taxed for polluting the environment.He said,The revenue collected from these vehicles will be used exclusively for green purposes and for strengthening the transport department.

People have two optionspay the tax or get rid of the old vehicles, Sangitrao said.

http://lite.epaper.timesofindia.com/getpage.aspx?pageid=2&pagesize=&edid=&edlabel=TOIM&mydateHid=05-08-2010&pubname=&edname=&publabel=TOI

Gear up for threefold hike in traffic fines

Sanjeev Shivadekar | TNN
TOI 5-08-2010

Mumbai: The next time you break a traffic law,be prepared to pay a heavy priceliterally.The state government on Wednesday decided in a cabinet meeting to increase threefold the fines for all traffic violations and make some of the more serious offences like road rage and rash driving bailable only by a magistrate.

The move to amend the Motor Vehicles Act (MVA) of 1988,proposed by state transport minister Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil,is the administrations latest bid to crack down on the growing menace of rash driving on the states roads.
Under the draft amendment,offences like road rage,rash driving and racing would be made non-compoundable,which means that those caught for these violations cannot be set free by the police after onthe-spot collection of a fine.

If a person is caught for a non-compoundable offence,then he/she has to be produced before a magistrate.It is at the discretion of the judge to either impose a penalty or a jail term or both on the offender, said a senior transport department official.Until now,only drunk driving was deemed a non-compoundable offence.

Chief minister Ashok Chavan said there was an urgent need in the state to punish erring motorists.A change in rules will make motorists think twice before committing offences, he said.

The government is hoping that besides adding more offences to the non-compoundable list,hiking all traffic fines threefold would help bring down the number of mishaps on the city.At present,the fine for drunk driving is Rs 2,000 with a maximum jail term of six months.The fine in cases of signal jumping,lane cutting and rash driving is a minimum of Rs 100 and a maximum of Rs 500.The fine can go up to Rs 1,200 if the offender gets into an argument with the officer on duty, said one a senior official.

Government officials said that since MVA falls under the Centres purview the proposal will soon be sent to the president for her approval.MVA is a central act and any amendment to it needs the presidents consent.We expect to get it in two to three months, said the transport department official.

According to government figures,in 2007,11,804 people lost their lives in 76,601 road accidents across the state.In 2008 and 2009,there were 75,527 and 71,594 accidents and 12,397 and 11,396 deaths,respectively.
Additional commissioner of police (Traffic) Brijesh Singh welcomed the move.Abroad,there are fewer accidents because of stringent punishments.Now,with the state government changing the rules,we too expect good results, he said.

http://lite.epaper.timesofindia.com/getpage.aspx?pageid=2&pagesize=&edid=&edlabel=TOIM&mydateHid=05-08-2010&pubname=&edname=&publabel=TOI

^^ great news...

WONT TAKE AUTOS,CABS ON AUGUST 12
REVENGE OF THE COMMUTER

Virat A Singh and Aneesh Phadnis mirrorfeedback@indiatimes.com
Mumbai Mirror 6-08-2010

Tired of being fleeced by auto and taxi drivers,three Mumbai residents call for a one-day strike

Have you ever been refused a ride by an autowallah or a cabbie Did that leave you fuming If your answer is yes to both these questions,here is your chance to get back at them.

Three advertising professionals -- Abhilash Krishnan,Rachna Brar and Jaidev Rupani -- have launched a campaign against greedy cabbies and autowallahs who refuse fares for short distances and tamper with meters to fleece commuters.The centrepiece of this campaign will be the August 12 commuters strike,when anyone who has ever been wronged by an auto or a taxi driver must shun them.

http://lite.epaper.timesofindia.com/getpage.aspx?pageid=3&pagesize=&edid=&edlabel=MMIR&mydateHid=06-08-2010&pubname=&edname=&publabel=MM

Mumbai’s problem is 725 vehicles per km

Published: Friday, Aug 6, 2010,

You always knew Mumbai was congested. Well, here are the statistics. Since 2008, about 17 lakh vehicles have been registered in the city, whose total road length is 2,000 km.

Added to existing vehicles, the vehicle density of the city works out to 725 per km, much more than double the international average of 300.

“This is the problem we have to face,” government pleader Dhairyasheel Nalavade told the Bombay high court (HC) on Thursday, replying to a PIL filed by the Bombay Bar Association (BBA) and advocate Armin Wandrewala.

The PIL points out the pitiable state of traffic in the city. Wandrewala argued in the court that: the traffic lights system is imperfect, creating confusion and leading to accidents; there are no proper zebra crossings; traffic policemen do not prevent pedestrians from breaking rules. He said so lackadaisical is the approach to traffic that zebra crossing paints do not last more than 4-5 months.

“It is noted regrettably that even the traffic police sometimes (perhaps unwittingly) encourage the breaking of signals (maybe to expedite flow of traffic) by urging vehicles to come forward, even on zebra crossings, irrespective of red signal. This habituates vehicle drivers to not respect signals,” the PIL says. Also, at several signals, including major junctions, the time lag between red and green is not sufficient to allow complete passage of vehicular traffic from a particular direction.

The PIL seeks strict implementation of the rules and punishment for violators.

Nalavade quoted the figures from an affidavit filed by the assistant commissioner of police (administration). The affidavit also stated that the state has installed “state-of-art” area traffic systems as well as CCTV cameras at 253 junctions in the city. “There are about 3,000 policepersons in the traffic department, of whom 2,600 constables are on duty at a time,” Nalavade said.

The HC division bench of chief justice Mohit Shah and justice SC Dharmadhikari, which is hearing the PIL, has directed the state to consider increasing the number of traffic constables. The court has also called for the minutes of the meetings held by the traffic advisory committee since January 1. Besides, it has directed the BMC to complete the painting of zebra crossings across the city by September 30.

The court inquired about the steps the traffic department is taking against jaywalkers. It also suggested that school and college students be roped in to man traffic, but Wandrewala suggested that the task should be entrusted to adults rather than children.
The bench has directed the state to file an affidavit in three weeks.

http://www.dnaindia.com/mumbai/report_mumbai-s-problem-is-725-vehicles-per-km_1419510

Even though the number of vehicles increase on the road, as long as there is free flow of the traffic there should not be problem, humm... i mean if all follow traffic sense.
Hope, hike in traffic fines may help some extent.

State to kickstart share-an-auto plan in suburbs
Somit Sen & Viju B | TNN

Mumbai: In a move that has drawn applause from transport experts and commuters, the state transport department has decided to organise share-an-auto services to and from railway stations in the suburbs. The move is expected to reduce traffic congestion as well as bring relief to commuters who must increasingly contend with auto drivers who refuse to ply and choose passengers according to the destination.
The first route will be inaugurated by transport commissioner Dilip Jadhav in a few days at Bandra (East) and will see autos taking passengers between the station and the collector’s office at Rs 5.50 per person. The metered fare for the distance is around Rs 12. Up to 50 auto shuttle stands are expected to be set up in phases across the suburbs within two months.
Meanwhile, BEST is planning to study the impact share-autos will have on its services, and could withdraw buses on non-profit-making routes. BEST general manager O P Gupta said, “Let me first clarify that the BEST does not directly compete with autos.’’ But he added that the BEST’s planning department would conduct a survey.
15,000 new pvt cabs to ply in city Private fleet operators are literally drooling over the government’s decision to auction off 15,000 lapsed permits—belonging to old black-and-yellow taxis that had been lying with the RTO for 13 years—to them. The decision means that the numbers of fleet taxis like Meru, Mega Cabs, etc, are set to rise from 3,000 to 18,000 within a year. On Friday, the RTO began the process of auctioning off 4,000 permits to private operators. Bidding will start at Rs 1 lakh, and the state government will be richer by Rs 150 crore. The permits will be auctioned in a phased manner. The strength of black-andyellow taxis will remain at 48,000. P 2 | London cabbies best, P 20 Commuters eye auto-matic relief Govt’s Share-An-Auto System Could Help Reduce Nuisance Of Auto Drivers Who Refuse To Take Passengers
In a decision that is bound to be welcomed by both commuters and autorickshaw owners, the Regional Transport Office (RTO) has decided to set up routes for shared autos between railway stations and densely populated neighbourhoods.
Hopefully, the service will help commuters get autos quicker and they will not have to deal with drivers who pick and choose commuters and refuse to ply to certain destination. Mainly, the system should be lighter on the pocket, especially for commuters travelling solo or in pairs.
As many as 50 share-an-auto stands will be started outside railway stations in the first phase. The shuttles will take commuters to and from stations from Bandra to Dahisar on the Western Railway line, Sion to Mulund on the Central Railway line and Kurla to Mankhurd on the Harbour line, RTO sources said.
The first stand will be inaugurated
by transport commissioner Dilip Jadhav outside Bandra station in the next few days. The shuttles will ferry passengers from Bandra (East) to the suburban collector’s office for Rs 5.50 per passenger.
Each shuttle route will be provided proper infrastructure, such as stands set up outside railway stations with prominent boards displaying the fares and routes. The stands will be monitored by the RTO. Mahanagar Gas Limited has come forward to sponsor the rate boards, which will be approved by the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Transport Authority.
“The boards will be visible to all commuters. They will have a picture of an autorickshaw and mention ‘Share-an-Auto’ service in bold letters,’’ an official said.
Auto drivers will be free to alternate between metered and shuttle journeys. But when they enter a shuttle stand, they won’t be able to switch to a metered journey. “Auto drivers will have to follow the Maharashtra Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989,’’ said a senior RTO official. “If they are waiting at a stand, the first two autos should have drivers seated in the vehicle. They should maintain discipline, a proper queue, drive out of the station area without obstructing the movement of pedestrians, avoid causing congestion or traffic snarls, ensure that vehicles are in good running condition with adequate fuel and proper lights etc,’’ he stated. Any driver failing to comply with the rules could be fined and his licence impounded, he added.
The shuttle services are likely to come up in phases outside the eastern and western exits of railway stations across the suburbs. The routes will be decided by the RTO depending on the passenger demand and the traffic from a particular locality or station. Fares will be calculated by a three-member committee comprising an inspector of motor vehicles, a traffic cop and a member of an auto union.
The service will also be beneficial to drivers, who will get an assured supply of customers.
Officials from the transport department said that there are future plans to connect commercial hubs and housing complexes with shuttle services in the second phase. The first phase is expected to be completed in two months, sources added.
AUTOS IN GREATER MUMBAI
1,08,812
As on March 31, 2008
AUTOS’ ANNUAL GROWTH RATE
2%
From March 2005 to 2008

http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Default/Scripting/ArticleWin.asp?From=Archive&Source=Page&Skin=TOINEW&BaseHref=TOIM/2010/08/07&ViewMode=HTML&GZ=T&PageLabel=2&EntityId=Ar00101&DataChunk=Ar00200&AppName=1

There was already an existing share-a service since early 2000s. How come this is news today?

i guess probably its the govt's iniative.Earlier it was basically form the rickshawalla 'side and it was only at certain places. If this one at bandra is successful probably they might start it at every station both on east and west sideanhopefully in an organised manner.

people do it in rush hour anyway

lol so I dont think we need a gov scheme.

How much is the fare if just one person goes by rickshaw and doesn't want the share-a service? The last thing I knew it was around 8 rupees in 2006.

its 11 rupees minimum still less than other cities .

most other cities dont even go by the meter.

btw a trio have decided to go on a strike that is not use the rickshaw or taxi for a day on the twelveth , just to protest against their dadagiri.They even have their own site
http://meterjam.com/

^^great idea....awesome.... :)

well i dont use them anyways

but will pass it onto people i know. good site.

del

http://img337.imageshack.us/img337/6544/10082010003002.jpg (http://img337.imageshack.us/i/10082010003002.jpg/)

Source: Hindustan Times

Finally...

http://img820.imageshack.us/img820/7857/10082010003005.jpg (http://img820.imageshack.us/i/10082010003005.jpg/)

Source: Hindustan Times

http://epaper.hindustantimes.com/PUBLICATIONS/HT/HM/2010/08/14/Article//006/14_08_2010_006_006.jpg

source Hindustan Times

http://epaper.indianexpress.com/IE/IEH/2010/08/16/Article//523/16_08_2010_523_025.jpg

source :Indian Express

3-way ticket device on BEST bus soon
Somit Sen | TNN

Mumbai: BEST conductors will soon be armed with a three-pronged device to serve passengers: the new ticketing machine will help them issue electronic tickets, validate monthly and quarterly passes (smart cards) as well as renew them on board.
The proposal to procure 7,500 hi-tech devices, which was first reported by TOI, from Trimax IT Infrastructure and Services Ltd was cleared by the BEST committee on Thursday and the system is likely to be implemented by Diwali. BEST general manager Om Prakash Gupta said, “We got the proposal cleared today; it will take six to eight weeks to implement it.”
The BEST also plans to replace all existing smart cards with photo IDs that will have radio-frequency identification (RFID) technology and this, they will do free of cost. New IDs, however, will cost Rs 20.
According to a five-year build-operate-transfer contract, Trimax will issue 10 lakh smart cards free of cost to BEST, will be responsible for maintenance of the machines, and has to train 10,000 conductors. Trimax will set up 150 smart card counters.
Under the contract, Trimax will earn ten paise per ticket, but will have an upper cap of Rs 1.22 crore per month on its earnings. The ad rights on the tickets, however, will be with the BEST. “Also, we will handle the cash,’’ said Gupta.
The new devices, which will be connected to a central computer server through GPRS, will help BEST collect data on ticket sales.
50 AC Volvos
The BEST is set to get 50 new AC Volvo buses free of cost. “This is the first time that we have got AC Volvos in our fleet and we have to pay for the fuel only,’’ said BEST GM Om Prakash Gupta. “The contractor, Asian Concierge, will provide us with the buses and we will give them our drivers/conductors. They will also have the ad rights on the vehicles and 150 stops.” TNN
187 new buses
By the end of the September, the BEST will get 187 buses promised under the JNNURM. These buses were held up after the Centre introduced a new rule making it compulsory for every bus to be fitted with “multiplex wiring’’. “We have sorted out the issue and the delivery is expected by month-end,’’ said BEST GM Om Prakash Gupta.

http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Default/Scripting/ArticleWin.asp?From=Archive&Source=Page&Skin=TOINEW&BaseHref=TOIM/2010/09/10&PageLabel=5&EntityId=Ar00502&ViewMode=HTML&GZ=T

I think following project will have huze impact on MMR.

Final alignment of Virar-Alibaug Metro, highway corridor by Dec (http://www.hindustantimes.com/Final-alignment-of-Virar-Alibaug-Metro-highway-corridor-by-Dec/Article1-608956.aspx)


The final alignment of the multi-modal Virar-Alibaug corridor will be finalised by December, the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Develo-pment Authority (MMRDA) announced on Tuesday. Once completed, the corridor will connect Virar to Alibaug, bypassing the existing routes. The corridor will consist of a
Metro rail route along with an 8-lane highway, connecting the two places.
“The alignment will be ready by the end of this year, after which we will be able to begin work on the project. Once the alignment is finalised, we also expect some suggestions and objections coming in. We’ve set a deadline of 2014 for the project,” said a senior MMRDA official.

The alignment of the route is very significant, as it would be passing through satellite towns of Bhiwandi, Kalyan and Dombivli. The MMRDA had, in July this year, appointed the Louis Berger Group as consultants to carry out a feasibility study for the development of the 140-km corridor.

The project, estimated to cost around Rs 10,000 crore, will connect the two locations with a 30-meter wide Metro corridor in the median.

The 8-lane highway will also have a dedicated 4-lane Bus Rapid Transport System (BRTS) corridor. The MMRDA claims that the route will also have 5-meter wide pedestrian pathways along with dedicated parking lanes for both two-wheelers and four-wheelers.

The authority aims to connect the corridor to four significant national highways – NH-8 (Mumbai-Ahmedabad), NH-3 (Mumbai-Agra-Delhi), NH-4 (Mumbai-Chennai), and NH-17 (Goa-Mangalore-Kerala).

Mumbai Ring Road!! This project reminds me of NYC's Interstate 287 which goes around the widely extended suburban areas of the metropolitan area in NJ and upstate. Same way here areas between Virar and Bhiwandi are largely rural and same goes for area south of Navi Mumbai until Alibag.

Mumbai is a very crowded city. The population is galloping day by day. So the question of transportation will be very sensitive. So the city is well equipped by the means of transport but more mediums are needed to be added.

Mumbai is a very crowded city. The population is galloping day by day. So the question of transportation will be very sensitive. So the city is well equipped by the means of transport but more mediums are needed to be added.

:cheers:

X posting from Transportation:MRTS/Trams/Buses II thread

Mumbai: Passengers travelling to Pune by AC Volvo buses will get a new ST stand at Dadar from Sunday.
The revamped stand,located under the Dadar flyover,will be inaugurated by chief minister Prithviraj Chavan.MSRTC managing director Deepak Kapoor said that 14,000 passengers travelled to Pune daily by the Asiad,Sheetal (semi-luxury AC) and the AC Volvos.We are providing maximum comfort to passengers at the new stand.There will also be a help desk,a control room and computerized ticketing centre, he said.
A highlight of the stand will be the AC waiting room for passengers__ with LCD TV,a rack for newspapers and magazines,radio FM service,drinking water and other amenities.We also plan to start catering facilities in Volvo buses soon.Passengers will not have to alight from the bus for tea and refreshment, he said.
The MSRTC plies 60 Volvos,five Mercedes Benz,two Sheetal buses and 85 semiluxury buses to Pune.Passengers often complain about the seating arrangements at the existing stand,which is situated on the pavement.But now they can relax in AC comfort.The offices of the MSRTC will also be situated in the premises,with a facility for passengers to give their suggestions and complaints directly to officials.
There will be better management of buses entering and leaving the stand.Every bus will be allotted a parking slot depending on how early it has to leave for another journey.This will ensure that there is no clash between Volvos and Asiad buses.
At the present stand,buses are randomly parked near the pavement and it becomes difficult for some of the buses to leave the stand if two buses are parked in front of it.The new stand will have parking facilities for eight buses at a time.The MSRTC will also ensure that drivers are punctual.The drivers and conductors too have AC waiting rooms.
After the new stand is inaugurated,buses coming to Dadar from Pune will have to take a detour from Dadar TT circle towards Wadala and come to the stand from the road next to Sharda theatre.The MSRTC will not have to spend a single paise on the construction of the new stand as it will earn a huge revenue from advertising rights at the stand.

Source
TOI Mumbai

CM promises BRTS, but it’s all up to MMRDA

Somit Sen | TNN

Mumbai: Chief minister Prithviraj Chavan on Sunday said the government will create world-class bus stations in every district, implement a bus rapid transit system (BRTS) in Mumbai, and speed up work on the trans-harbour link.
Though Chavan, who handles the transport portfolio, is keen on a BRTS for the city, the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) has not made much headway with it. Though the authority has held several meetings with agencies like BEST over the last year, it has not even initiated trial runs.
Chavan made his statement speaking to reporters after inaugurating an air-conditioned ST stand at Dadar for Volvo and semi-luxury buses travelling between Mumbai and Pune. The stand is claimed to be the first in the country to have an AC resting room for drivers.
“My vision is to see every major bus station (owned by the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation—MSRTC) as an economic hub,” Chavan said. “There is surplus land at these spots, which could be exploited commercially by setting up business centres and transit accommodation for business travellers.
“We plan to put each station in a category of three depending on passenger volume. For example, an A-class station will have hotels, business centres, refreshment areas, AC waiting rooms, ATMs, touch screen kiosks, LCD TV screens, newspapers, magazines and other amenities.
“I have directed MSRTC managing director Deepak Kapoor to hire the best architects to revamp all bus stations in Maharashtra.”
On the BRTS proposal, Chavan said trial runs are expected to begin on the Western Express Highway by next month. On the 22-km Sewree-Nhava Sheva transharbour link (which has suffered a six-year delay), he said hurdles on its way will be removed. “I will ensure that work on the Navi Mumbai airport and the sea link is carried out simultaneously. The link should hopefully be ready by the time the airport comes up.”

Your Mum-Pune ride gets more comfy
State Transport Body Introduces 2 Jumbo Buses On The Route
Somit Sen TNN

Mumbai: Those who regularly travel from Mumbai to Pune by AC Volvos can now opt for multi-axle jumbo buses that were flagged off by the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) on Sunday.
The two new buses can not only accommodate more passengers than AC Volvos, but also have swankier interiors, more comfortable seats and powerful AC blast and suspension. The most attractive feature of these Jumbo buses is the fare, which at Rs 270 is the same as that for an AC Volvo.
“This means the extra facilities and comforts come free,” said MSRTC managing director Deepak Kapoor.
The corporation, said Kapoor, also plans to introduce semi-sleeper Jumbo buses. “We have given an order to redesign five Jumbo buses in which seats can be tilted up to 130 degrees. This will give more comfort to passengers travelling on long distance routes like Goa (14 hours) and Bengaluru (16 hours),” he said, adding that the semi-sleeper coaches will join the fleet next month.
The two new Jumbos, nicknamed ‘Ashwamedha’, will cover four trips daily on the Dadar-Pune route. The AC Volvos cover 65 trips a day. “Passengers will definitely opt for a Jumbo bus ride, but the number of trips will be limited. We have begun online bookings and it will be on a first come, first served basis,” Kapoor said.
The MSRTC will also introduce on-board catering service soon, Kapoor said. “We can ferry 12,000 passengers extra in these two Jumbo buses annually as compared to two AC Volvos,” he said. “We also introduced 15 Midi buses and three new AC Volvos on Sunday. The Midi buses will ply hilly terrain and on roads which cannot be accessed by ordinary ST buses,” said Kapoor.

MAKING ROOM FOR MORE


• 340-horsepower engine which makes the AC more efficient

• Two LCD TV screens, comfortable seats with double padded cushions and a cozy neck pad

• More legroom for passengers

• Each bus costs about Rs1 crore and is 13.8 metres long, about two metres longer than an AC Volvo

• Can accommodate 53 passengers, eight more than the AC Volvo

• The two new Jumbos will cover four trips daily on the Dadar-Pune route

• The most attractive feature is the fare, which at Rs 270 is the same as that for an AC Volvo


http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Repository/getimage.dll?path=TOIM/2011/03/14/5/Img/Pc0051000.jpg

Pedestrian Bridges - Eastern Express Highway

http://img840.imageshack.us/img840/5339/dsc0066resizef.jpg

http://img130.imageshack.us/img130/7816/dsc0067resizeg.jpg

http://img163.imageshack.us/img163/1633/dsc0090resize.jpg

http://img844.imageshack.us/img844/4443/dsc0097resize.jpg

http://img852.imageshack.us/img852/1725/dsc0100resize.jpg

http://img641.imageshack.us/img641/5095/dsc0108resize.jpg

Nice pics.

I wish the authorities maintain the roads with more beautification, organisation & new lane markings etc.

Nice pics.

I wish the authorities maintain the roads with more beautification, organisation & new lane markings etc.

Well, your wish is granted it seems. PWD who looks after WEH which includes the service roads is relaying the asphalt, work has started from bandra. And MSRDC who looks after the flyovers are repairing the old ones and giving a fresh coat of paint to all flyovers.

Chief minister Prithviraj Chavan today announced in the state legislative council, Mumbai Metropolitan Regional Development Authority (MMRDA) will be the nodal agency for the Mumbai Trans Harbour Link (MTHL)project. Proposal has been sent for environmental clearance.

Well, your wish is granted it seems. PWD who looks after WEH which includes the service roads is relaying the asphalt, work has started from bandra. And MSRDC who looks after the flyovers are repairing the old ones and giving a fresh coat of paint to all flyovers.

YAY!!!

It makes all the difference.

Why are they painting these structures anyways? Its just going to be a lot of maintenance work.

http://epaper.hindustantimes.com/PUBLICATIONS/HT/HM/2011/04/27/Article//004/27_04_2011_004_010.jpg

http://img20.imageshack.us/img20/4301/30042011008016.jpg (http://img20.imageshack.us/i/30042011008016.jpg/)

Uploaded with ImageShack.us (http://imageshack.us)

WOAH.. Mumbai finally got Volvo buses?
Anybody got a pic?

the reporter must have meant KL buses.

Any AC bus looking like volvo bus is termed as volvo.

Just as any vanaspati ghee is termed as dalda.

:))

the reporter must have meant KL buses.

Any AC bus looking like volvo bus is termed as volvo.

Just as any vanaspati ghee is termed as dalda.

:))
LOL
I also heard Mumbai got Mercs?

the reporter must have meant KL buses.

Any AC bus looking like volvo bus is termed as volvo.

Just as any vanaspati ghee is termed as dalda.

:))

volvos operate on AS2 and AS4 routes...king long operates on all major routes...bmc plans to add 50 volvos....

volvos operate on AS2 and AS4 routes...king long operates on all major routes...bmc plans to add 50 volvos....

volvos operates on as 4 and As74, Hybrid operates on As2 and As 461, 2 Ashok Leyland AC buses operate on AS 440 and As 503, no mercedes buses yet but you never know, manufacturers have something for BEST. All the above buses are given free to BEST

volvos operates on as 4 and As74, Hybrid operates on As2 and As 461, 2 Ashok Leyland AC buses operate on AS 440 and As 503, no mercedes buses yet but you never know, manufacturers have something for BEST. All the above buses are given free to BEST
WOW !!!
Well, your wish is granted it seems. PWD who looks after WEH which includes the service roads is relaying the asphalt, work has started from bandra. And MSRDC who looks after the flyovers are repairing the old ones and giving a fresh coat of paint to all flyovers..
I thought MMRDA?

WOW !!!
.
I thought MMRDA?

MMRDA handed it over to PWD, just like some of the link roads they built handed it to BMC

MMRDA handed it over to PWD, just like some of the link roads they built handed it to BMC

And BMC did it eh???
Bombay Mismanagement Corporation

volvos operates on as 4 and As74, Hybrid operates on As2 and As 461, 2 Ashok Leyland AC buses operate on AS 440 and As 503, no mercedes buses yet but you never know, manufacturers have something for BEST. All the above buses are given free to BEST

I've seen the Tata Marcopolo hybrids on Route AS 524 too (Vashi to Borivali). Decent buses, though rather noisy, and less luxurious seats as compared to the KingLongs. They don't seem to do the snail imitations on JVLR though.

High on speed, higher on productivity

Wider Roads & New Flyovers May Increase Mumbai’s Output By Reducing Travel Time
Ashley D’Mello & Somit Sen | TNN

For a city that has rightly earned the adjective fast-paced, Mumbai’s transportation systems have always been a tad sluggish. Hours get wasted in traffic snarls; eras seem to pass in slow locals; and time appears to break for lunch in buses. But all that will change at last. The city’s need for speed is not far from getting sated.
By next year, Mumbai will get a slew of faster trains and buses, wider roads and spanking flyovers that together will considerably reduce the amount of time citizens spend travelling. Further alleviating Mumbaikars’ misery will be the much-awaited Metro. Plying between Versova and Ghatkopar via Andheri in the first phase, it will cut down the travel time from the current 35 minutes to 25 minutes.
In all, the administration plans to lay down over 250 kilometres of Metro tracks on nine different routes besides building several monorail tracks and a new water transport system.
Studies point out that speed lead to higher productivity, which in turn creates more prosperity in the society. The assertion, says transport specialist Arun Mokashi, can already be seen reflected in Mumbai’s suburban rail network, which has helped turn the metropolis into a prosperous commercial centre. “The suburban rail gives the workers, professionals and businessmen an assured form of transport. Uncertainties removed means greater production,” says Mokashi, who is currently on assignment with the World Bank.
Metro officials say they expect about 6 lakh people to daily travel by Metro on the Versova-Andheri-Ghatkopar route. This will be in addition to the extra passenger traffic that the expanded suburban rail system is expected to accommodate. A new track is being laid from Borivli to Virar and the rail services being extended to Dahanu. All this, officials say, will create more business.
Already, Mokashi points out, widened roads have reduced travel time on the Western and Eastern Express Highways. And, once the series of flyovers on the route is complete, the journey from Teen Hath Naka in Thane to south Mumbai will take about 45 minutes instead of the current 90.
The BEST is also chipping in to change people’s lives. It has already introduced fast track routes and next plans to launch a limited-stop, air-conditioned bus service by next year. Called Green Bus Express, the service run from north to south besides connecting the eastern and western corridors. As a concession, these buses will be allowed to ply on flyovers. A pilot bus was launched recently between Gorai depot and Colaba and between Gorai and Bandra-Kurla Complex.

Ferry to help tide over space crunch


Mumbai: The ball might have just started rolling on the now-on, now-off water transport projects, but they are already a source of hope for the harried commuters of the land-scarce city.
Experts say that the roll-on/roll-off ferry service between Ferry Wharf (Bhau Cha Dhaka) and Mandwa near Alibaug on the eastern coast will cut travel time by 90 minutes once it starts. The service will accommodate goods vehicles and private commuters. On the western front, ferry services will run from Borivli to Nariman Point.
Experts say that the water transport systems will take longer than other transportation systems to come up, but once up they will play a crucial rule in the city.
In March, the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) decided to conduct a traffic management study near Ferry Wharf. The study will examine ways to manage the extra vehicular traffic coming into the area that is already congested with container traffic.

http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Repository/getimage.dll?path=TOIM/2011/05/09/4/Img/Pc0040800.jpg

New blueprint puts bus travel on fast track

Somit Sen | TNN

Mumbai: With new flyovers, dedicated lanes and wider roads coming up all across the city, the experience of bus travel in Mumbai is set to change forever.
The BEST has begun implementing a blueprint on fasttrack routes that will connect the city’s north to south and east to west. Already, it has started 10 buses each on four routes—Mantralaya to Mahim, Mahim to Mira Road East, Colaba to Sion and Sion to Thane. At present, these buses run at a frequency of 15 minutes, but BEST officials say the time difference will reduce further once more vehicles are deployed.
The undertaking also wants to connect the eastern and western corridors by introducing express buses from Sion to Mahim and on JVLR and Aarey Road.
“The BEST cannot run buses fast unless there are enough flyovers and roads are wide and in good condition. The traffic police also need to regulate the flow of vehicles better and ensure there are no snarls,” said a senior BEST official.
Just last month, the traffic police cleared a bottleneck at Suman Nagar junction by blocking the right turn for vehicles coming from south Mumbai. In the past, buses got stuck at this junction for 10 to 15 minutes. BEST officials say the city needs more such measures.
New flyovers in the island city and those under construction on Ghodebunder Road in Thane will also ease the flow of BEST buses. “Several roads are being widened or taken up for repairs. This will ensure that BEST buses have uninterrupted journeys,” the BEST official said.
Earlier this year, chief minister Prithviraj Chavan announced a proposal for a pilot bus lane between Jogeshwari and Kandivli. The project was, however, not found feasible.
“The chief minister should clear all hurdles regarding traffic, RTO and MMRDA and give a green signal to the dedicated bus lanes, which are a precursor to the Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS),” said BEST committee member Dilip Patel. He pointed out that BRTS was a success in Gujarat.
BEST general manager Om Prakash Gupta said: “We soon plan to have fast-track routes on more corridors—Mahim to Dahisar along Swami Vivekananda Road, Mahim to Dahisar along Western Link Road, Sion to Thane along LBS Marg, Sion to Navi Mumbai along V N Purav and Y B Chavan Marg and Colaba to Sion via RA Kidwai Road.”

BEST should concentrate on Long Distance, Volvo routes independent of other modes of transport like the Suburban Rail, Metro, etc. And it should be an express service, something that uses all flyovers except select ones on the route.
That way, they can garner some mega profit.

What's with BEST's obsession for single doored AC buses?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wz84x8mdE_4

Can anyone kindly indicate from where the APSRTC buses originate/Terminate from Mumbai . As per my knowledge there is no proper bus station in mumbai, The one in Dadar is under a flyover.
How is the one in Central?

http://moneylife.in/article/brts-for-mumbai-clearing-some-doubts-raised-by-certain-groups-and-authorities/16478.html

Sudhir Badami

http://moneylife.in/site/userimage/image/bus-rapid.jpg


Questions have been raised about some aspects of the Bus Rapid Transit System for Mumbai. While it is necessary to address these issues, it is more important not to delay the implementation of such a crucial project that can transform transportation, which is now straining the city and its citizens

The Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS) has been on the agenda for Mumbai from as far back as 2003, when Mumbai urban infrastructure projects were being conceived for the city. It was thought that it would eclipse all other transportation projects and that by 2011 we would be comfortably placed. That has not happened. Still, we look forward with optimism, like at the end of each day we look forward to the sunrise the next morning. Perhaps, addressing some of the concerns of the authorities may help in moving the BRTS programme forward.

During my conversation with some of the stakeholders, such as the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA), Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM), the Bombay Electricity Supply and Transport (BEST) undertaking, and the transport department of the Maharashtra government, I learned of some of their apprehensions. They include queries that the common man may have-whether it is those who use public transport, or even the small minority who own personalised, motorised transport. So, let's consider some of these fears and concerns, systematically.
> BRTS has not been tried, and if it fails, there would be plenty of public criticism
> Taking away one lane for buses, from the already congested vehicular traffic will create strong negative reaction from the public.
> 3-metre wide road lane is sub-standard and should not be followed.
> Need pedestrian crossings at the same level as footpaths.
> Provision of foot-overbridges to cross the road and to reach the BRT bus stops.
> Mumbai is different-it has no space for all this.
Let us take address these issues step by step.

Let's try a Dedicated Bus Lane (DBL) to start off, and if this succeeds, then let's take up the BRTS.
Money cannot be spent wastefully. If BRTS fails, there will be criticism of the money wasted. On the other hand, DBL is inexpensive in comparison to the funds that would be required for BRTS. If DBL fails, it will be easier to defend the money spent on it. And if DBL succeeds, it would pave the way for the acceptance of BRTS. This may be true.

However, what needs to be understood is that while DBL will not improve the performance, it demands greater supervision during operation. It is beset with numerous unsolvable issues. DBL is bound to fail in Mumbai-small experiments to run buses in dedicated bus lanes over a short distance, say between Chhatrapati Shivaji (railway) Terminus and Mantralaya (the state headquarters), should be sufficient reason to realise the futility. Yet, there has to be an open mind to use the DBL if BRTS has to function efficiently.

BRTS is a well-designed system that requires plenty of detailed planning, just like the Metro Rail or the Monorail, or even the much taken-for-granted, suburban railway system which have well-designed system. If the cost, operational flexibility and performance of BRTS are to be compared with a system, it should be with the Metro Rail and Monorail and not with DBL.

BRTS is untried and if it fails, there will be plenty of criticism from the public.
Barely 3% of Mumbai's population use personal cars and 8.5% use motorized two-wheelers and they will not be affected by the introduction of BRTS in Mumbai. They currently drive on congested roads and will continue to drive on congested roads even after the BRTS project is implemented, unless of course a large number of them move over to using the BRTS and other modes of public transport. While traffic police have been callous and mismanage traffic, road congestion is blamed on bad roads by the BMC and the increasing number of cars. It is likely that the BRTS 'taking away' one full road lane will be the main criticism for the 11% of the population who have personal motorised vehicles.

So this is a good enough reason for the government-both the bureaucrats and their political bosses-not to care for the plight of the silent suffering 89% of the population of Mumbai who travel by suburban trains and BEST buses.

It is argued that BRTS is untried! They pretend to ignore the fact that BRTS is already in operation in different parts of the world, at different capacities, and especially in cities which decided to go in for a quickly implementable, low-cost option like BRTS, for urban rapid transit. Flexibility of design and operation of BRTS lends itself to operation as in the much-appreciated low-capacity Ahmedabad BRTS (1,500 pphpd-passengers per hour per direction), much criticised, but getting expanded immensely; the reasonably good capacity Delhi BRTS (8,000 pphpd), and Pune BRTS, and in the BRTS under implementation in Jaipur, Vishakhapattanam, Surat, Bengaluru and Rajkot, not to mention scores of them in China, or in Seoul, Brisbane, Istanbul, Lagos. Bogota (in Colombia) has achieved 45,000 pphpd capacity and Curitiba (in Brazil) provides 13,000 pphpd. Sao Paulo (also in Brazil) and Santiago (in Chile) have about 22,000 pphpd.

Mumbai needs four routes of 45,000, or six routes of 30,000, or five of 36,000, or two of 45,000 plus three of 30,000 pphpd-any combination that gives a total capacity of 1,80,000 pph if we want the suburban railway to run at its design capacity. The point that all stakeholders must note is that super-overcrowding of the suburban railway system leads to about 4,000 fatalities annually.

So, is the fear of facing criticism for possible failure preventing government from taking the right decisions? Does not the loss of 4,000 lives annually affect their sensibilities? Cost apart, will the Metro Rail and the Monorail meet the much-needed requirement? And when?

Because the public transport is in such a bad state and the pedestrian ways unfriendly that the Persons with Disability (PwD), Elderly, Expectant Women, Children, the infirm and the many with medical problems such as cardio vascular and arthritic ailments are rendered virtually immobile.

'Taking away' one lane for buses, in already congested vehicular traffic, will spark off a strong negative reaction from the public
Considering that buses occupy less than 5% of road space compared to equivalent cars and additional cars, taking away one lane for buses would mean 95% of vehicles will have the remaining lanes to move on. For a three-lane carriageway, this would amount to 95% of vehicles would get 67% of road space! The arithmetic does not resolve the apprehension fully as it is evident that reduced road space will lead to high road congestion, especially when the rest of the traffic will continue to also include non-motorised vehicles (NMVs) as well as heavy motor vehicles (HMVs).

However, the reality is different. Currently, buses and heavy motor vehicles rarely follow lane discipline, just as most other vehicles flout the norm. By driving on the lane demarcation line, a vehicle occupies two lanes. Stage buses also change lanes often to halt at (or near) bus stops and they still do not stop close to the kerb, adding to the road congestion. By putting buses in a dedicated bus lane, one of the reasons for road congestion is eliminated.

Although the remainder HMVs may occupy two spaces on the road simultaneously, their numbers are too small and unlike stage buses they do not make halts and so should not cause disruption to traffic flow. It is the non-motorised vehicles (NMVs) with much lower speeds that render one lane a slow-moving lane. This leads to conflicts on the road with motorised vehicles (MVs), visible in the honking and disrespectful behavior towards NMV users. To assist MVs to travel at good speed and improved throughput, it is best to segregate NMVs from MVs, just as in the case of buses, to improve transport performance.

In an open system, pedestrians and NMV users are the most vulnerable group. Segregating them to safer grounds is as important as allowing MVs to move with good speed and public transport to function more effectively through DBL.

The strong negative reaction from the public is from the group that occupies nearly 90% of road space, but contributes to just 15% to 20% of commuter throughput. Since segregation of NMVs, commuter buses and MVs will enable each of these groups to perform optimally at their respective steady good speeds, the apprehension of the MV users can be convincingly argued out with them; that their mobility is expected to improve rather than deteriorate by such reallocation of road space.

Promoting safe transit to NMVs, also means promoting larger segments of the commuting public to adopt the carbon neutral mode of transit for their respective travel distances. Recognising this aspect is everyone's responsibility and the government's duty to adopt and implement policies that proactively contribute to lessen global warming.

A 3-metre width traffic lane is sub-standard; the Indian Road Congress (IRC) set width of 3.5 metres should be followed to ensure good speed and 'less' accidents.
In urban areas, speeds must be kept in check through design features and minimum enforcement needs. Speed breakers and rumblers should be used sparingly as they are uncomfortable and injurious to health, even at slow speeds.

When the road lane width is as wide as 3.5 metres, the driver is quite comfortable to increase speed and he pays less attention to driving. Along narrower lanes, the driver usually pays more attention to driving, and hence keeps his speed in check, and avoids overtaking as the opportunity for squeezing in and overtaking diminishes considerably, thus preventing road accidents. Road accidents involving a pedestrian or bicyclist at high speed, commonly results in fatality, whereas at lower speeds and with greater attention on driving, fatal or serious accidents become rarer. Therefore, in order to lessen the probability of fatal or serious injury-causing road accidents, sub-standard road width should be beneficial, even if it does not follow IRC recommendations. Any way, IRC norms are mostly for highways and not urban roads.

Since squeezing-in is reduced, bottle-necking, one of the causes of road congestion in a flowing stream of vehicles also gets reduced. Therefore, providing substandard road width of 3 metres should be considered a progressive step.

Pedestrian crossings at the same level as of footpaths
The raised level of pedestrian crossing has twin functions. It is a facility that is friendly to PwD, the elderly, and also acts as a speed breaker. However, speed breakers are not friendly to people traveling in MVs. Motorised vehicles invariably move at higher speeds and have to take corrective measure to slow down suddenly, and not being able to achieve slow enough speeds to negotiate the speed breaker without jerks.

Too many speed breakers can be harmful. It speed breakers are combined with pedestrian crossings, the details must be modified to avoid the need to slow down suddenly. If speeds are not slow enough to enable the driver to brake to a halt in the event that a pedestrian moves on to the pedestrian crossing, the result could be serious, even fatal.

As raised pedestrian crossings are often part of BRTS details, it is suggested that the pedestrian crossing should be at least 3 metres wide and 15 centimetres to 20 centimetres above the road carriageway. The approach slope should be 1:50 while the leeward slope 1:15, with rumblers at about 15 metres before the beginning of the approach slope, sufficient distance for the MVs to slow down and roll over the pedestrian crossing-cum-speed breaker. This will avert suddenness and also keep speed in check.

The height of footpaths must be 15 centimetres to 20 centimetres from the road level at the kerb as a standard, and not the eight inches to ten inches that is being provided. This is to enable cars to stop closer to the kerb and allow the doors to open on to the footpath; else the cars get parked about a meter away from the kerb. Also, it must be ensured that there is no railing at the edge of the footpaths, only the posts of the railing 1.5 metres to 2 metres apart are adequate to streamline the pedestrian on to the footpaths. This would mean that autos, taxis, cars and non-BRT buses can stop closer to the kerb, while passengers are alighting or boarding the vehicles.

On congested roads, two-wheelers tend to drive on the footpath, which means there has to be greater deterrent and better enforcement rather than increased footpath height and putting up railings. Increased footpath height is very unfriendly to the whole class of people with disabilities.

Provide foot overbridge (FOB) for crossing as well as reaching BRT bus stops
Where it is necessary and space is available, providing an FOB is quite in order. However, there should be no compromise on making provisions stipulated under the Persons with Disability (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act 1995, which have to be made in any case for all public facilities. This would mean providing elevators or properly designed ramps.

It is to be understood that there are national and United Nations standard details available for making barrier-free environment, which makes the person with disability (PwD) independently mobile. Considering that there are significant numbers of PwD, the elderly, expectant ladies, the infirm and the many who are restrained from climbing stairs due to medical conditions, who need to use public transport, providing such facilities is non-negotiable. Even the law requires providing such facilities.

Mumbai is different - it has no space for all this
Is achieving mobility for 88% of the population more necessary; providing safety to the vulnerable sections of road users and implementing the Persons with Disability Act 1995 at all binding on us; and saving 4,000 lives annually more important; or will the issues of the 11% motorised vehicle users keep us from doing something worthwhile. It is for citizens to decide and demand from their political representatives, and a matter that bureaucrats must ponder over seriously.

[Sudhir Badami is a civil engineer and transportation analyst. He is on the Government of Maharashtra's Steering Committee on Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS) for Mumbai and the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority's (MMRDA) technical advisory committee on BRTS for Mumbai. He is also member of the Research & MIS Committee of Unified Mumbai Metropolitan Transport Authority (UMMTA). He was a member of the Bombay High Court-appointed erstwhile Road Monitoring Committee (2006-07). He has been an active campaigner against noise pollution for over a decade and he is a strong believer in a functioning democracy. He can be contacted on email at sudhirbadami@gmail.com.]
.......................................................................................................
Also read the comments below the article. Quite a worthwhile discussion.

Source (http://www.indiainfoline.com/Markets/News/Virar-Alibaug-Multi-Modal-Corridor-designing-near-completion/5144532162)
Virar-Alibaug Multi-Modal Corridor designing near completion

The consultants are expected to submit the final reports in about a couple of months.

The feasibility study of the ambitious project of Virar-Alibaug Multi-Modal Corridor is reaching near completion. As per the design, the corridor would be aimed to provide the vehicular speed of 120km/hour.

The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) would now take up the decisions pertaining to implementation and financial aspects of the project. Project planning consultants, The Louis Berger & Group, INC recently briefed the Authority on various aspects of the designing. The consultants are expected to submit the final reports in about a couple of months.

S V R Srinivas, Additional Metropolitan Commissioner, MMRDA, said, “There are many dynamic aspects to this project. Following the submission of final reports, we would decide upon the suggested financial and project implementation models. The planning of alternative alignment works is over along with surveys. We are incorporating various infrastructure components in the Corridor in which the road component would be planned such that it would facilitate the speed of 120km per hour to the motorists.” Moreover, designing of alignment, designing of toll plaza and interchanges are also completed. The Corridor proposed from Diva-Vasai rail line intersection on NH-8 up to Alibaug would cover a distance of about 140km. The route would enable to cover the distance just little more than an hour.

The other existing routes for the same destination include an intersection from NH-8 towards Bhiwandi via Kalyan towards Panvel. Another route is the diversion from Thane-Ghodbundar road at NH-8 towards Thane and then Panvel via Navi Mumbai. Third route is from Mumbai city to Eastern Express Highway up to Navi Mumbai and Panvel. Currently, all other routes take about 3 to 5 hours to cover the distance. Therefore, the proposed Multi-Modal Corridor would provide fastest and convenient route for the commuters between Gujarat, Mumbai towards Nashik, Pune, Goa Highway, Alibaug and even Navi Mumbai saving time, fuel and pressure on existing roadways

http://moneylife.in/article/brts-for-mumbai-clearing-some-doubts-raised-by-certain-groups-and-authorities/16478.html

Sudhir Badami

http://moneylife.in/site/userimage/image/bus-rapid.jpg


Questions have been raised about some aspects of the Bus Rapid Transit System for Mumbai. While it is necessary to address these issues, it is more important not to delay the implementation of such a crucial project that can transform transportation, which is now straining the city and its citizens

The Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS) has been on the agenda for Mumbai from as far back as 2003, when Mumbai urban infrastructure projects were being conceived for the city. It was thought that it would eclipse all other transportation projects and that by 2011 we would be comfortably placed. That has not happened. Still, we look forward with optimism, like at the end of each day we look forward to the sunrise the next morning. Perhaps, addressing some of the concerns of the authorities may help in moving the BRTS programme forward.

During my conversation with some of the stakeholders, such as the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA), Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM), the Bombay Electricity Supply and Transport (BEST) undertaking, and the transport department of the Maharashtra government, I learned of some of their apprehensions. They include queries that the common man may have-whether it is those who use public transport, or even the small minority who own personalised, motorised transport. So, let's consider some of these fears and concerns, systematically.
> BRTS has not been tried, and if it fails, there would be plenty of public criticism
> Taking away one lane for buses, from the already congested vehicular traffic will create strong negative reaction from the public.
> 3-metre wide road lane is sub-standard and should not be followed.
> Need pedestrian crossings at the same level as footpaths.
> Provision of foot-overbridges to cross the road and to reach the BRT bus stops.
> Mumbai is different-it has no space for all this.
Let us take address these issues step by step.

Let's try a Dedicated Bus Lane (DBL) to start off, and if this succeeds, then let's take up the BRTS.
Money cannot be spent wastefully. If BRTS fails, there will be criticism of the money wasted. On the other hand, DBL is inexpensive in comparison to the funds that would be required for BRTS. If DBL fails, it will be easier to defend the money spent on it. And if DBL succeeds, it would pave the way for the acceptance of BRTS. This may be true.

However, what needs to be understood is that while DBL will not improve the performance, it demands greater supervision during operation. It is beset with numerous unsolvable issues. DBL is bound to fail in Mumbai-small experiments to run buses in dedicated bus lanes over a short distance, say between Chhatrapati Shivaji (railway) Terminus and Mantralaya (the state headquarters), should be sufficient reason to realise the futility. Yet, there has to be an open mind to use the DBL if BRTS has to function efficiently.

BRTS is a well-designed system that requires plenty of detailed planning, just like the Metro Rail or the Monorail, or even the much taken-for-granted, suburban railway system which have well-designed system. If the cost, operational flexibility and performance of BRTS are to be compared with a system, it should be with the Metro Rail and Monorail and not with DBL.

BRTS is untried and if it fails, there will be plenty of criticism from the public.
Barely 3% of Mumbai's population use personal cars and 8.5% use motorized two-wheelers and they will not be affected by the introduction of BRTS in Mumbai. They currently drive on congested roads and will continue to drive on congested roads even after the BRTS project is implemented, unless of course a large number of them move over to using the BRTS and other modes of public transport. While traffic police have been callous and mismanage traffic, road congestion is blamed on bad roads by the BMC and the increasing number of cars. It is likely that the BRTS 'taking away' one full road lane will be the main criticism for the 11% of the population who have personal motorised vehicles.

So this is a good enough reason for the government-both the bureaucrats and their political bosses-not to care for the plight of the silent suffering 89% of the population of Mumbai who travel by suburban trains and BEST buses.

It is argued that BRTS is untried! They pretend to ignore the fact that BRTS is already in operation in different parts of the world, at different capacities, and especially in cities which decided to go in for a quickly implementable, low-cost option like BRTS, for urban rapid transit. Flexibility of design and operation of BRTS lends itself to operation as in the much-appreciated low-capacity Ahmedabad BRTS (1,500 pphpd-passengers per hour per direction), much criticised, but getting expanded immensely; the reasonably good capacity Delhi BRTS (8,000 pphpd), and Pune BRTS, and in the BRTS under implementation in Jaipur, Vishakhapattanam, Surat, Bengaluru and Rajkot, not to mention scores of them in China, or in Seoul, Brisbane, Istanbul, Lagos. Bogota (in Colombia) has achieved 45,000 pphpd capacity and Curitiba (in Brazil) provides 13,000 pphpd. Sao Paulo (also in Brazil) and Santiago (in Chile) have about 22,000 pphpd.

Mumbai needs four routes of 45,000, or six routes of 30,000, or five of 36,000, or two of 45,000 plus three of 30,000 pphpd-any combination that gives a total capacity of 1,80,000 pph if we want the suburban railway to run at its design capacity. The point that all stakeholders must note is that super-overcrowding of the suburban railway system leads to about 4,000 fatalities annually.

So, is the fear of facing criticism for possible failure preventing government from taking the right decisions? Does not the loss of 4,000 lives annually affect their sensibilities? Cost apart, will the Metro Rail and the Monorail meet the much-needed requirement? And when?

Because the public transport is in such a bad state and the pedestrian ways unfriendly that the Persons with Disability (PwD), Elderly, Expectant Women, Children, the infirm and the many with medical problems such as cardio vascular and arthritic ailments are rendered virtually immobile.

'Taking away' one lane for buses, in already congested vehicular traffic, will spark off a strong negative reaction from the public
Considering that buses occupy less than 5% of road space compared to equivalent cars and additional cars, taking away one lane for buses would mean 95% of vehicles will have the remaining lanes to move on. For a three-lane carriageway, this would amount to 95% of vehicles would get 67% of road space! The arithmetic does not resolve the apprehension fully as it is evident that reduced road space will lead to high road congestion, especially when the rest of the traffic will continue to also include non-motorised vehicles (NMVs) as well as heavy motor vehicles (HMVs).

However, the reality is different. Currently, buses and heavy motor vehicles rarely follow lane discipline, just as most other vehicles flout the norm. By driving on the lane demarcation line, a vehicle occupies two lanes. Stage buses also change lanes often to halt at (or near) bus stops and they still do not stop close to the kerb, adding to the road congestion. By putting buses in a dedicated bus lane, one of the reasons for road congestion is eliminated.

Although the remainder HMVs may occupy two spaces on the road simultaneously, their numbers are too small and unlike stage buses they do not make halts and so should not cause disruption to traffic flow. It is the non-motorised vehicles (NMVs) with much lower speeds that render one lane a slow-moving lane. This leads to conflicts on the road with motorised vehicles (MVs), visible in the honking and disrespectful behavior towards NMV users. To assist MVs to travel at good speed and improved throughput, it is best to segregate NMVs from MVs, just as in the case of buses, to improve transport performance.

In an open system, pedestrians and NMV users are the most vulnerable group. Segregating them to safer grounds is as important as allowing MVs to move with good speed and public transport to function more effectively through DBL.

The strong negative reaction from the public is from the group that occupies nearly 90% of road space, but contributes to just 15% to 20% of commuter throughput. Since segregation of NMVs, commuter buses and MVs will enable each of these groups to perform optimally at their respective steady good speeds, the apprehension of the MV users can be convincingly argued out with them; that their mobility is expected to improve rather than deteriorate by such reallocation of road space.

Promoting safe transit to NMVs, also means promoting larger segments of the commuting public to adopt the carbon neutral mode of transit for their respective travel distances. Recognising this aspect is everyone's responsibility and the government's duty to adopt and implement policies that proactively contribute to lessen global warming.

A 3-metre width traffic lane is sub-standard; the Indian Road Congress (IRC) set width of 3.5 metres should be followed to ensure good speed and 'less' accidents.
In urban areas, speeds must be kept in check through design features and minimum enforcement needs. Speed breakers and rumblers should be used sparingly as they are uncomfortable and injurious to health, even at slow speeds.

When the road lane width is as wide as 3.5 metres, the driver is quite comfortable to increase speed and he pays less attention to driving. Along narrower lanes, the driver usually pays more attention to driving, and hence keeps his speed in check, and avoids overtaking as the opportunity for squeezing in and overtaking diminishes considerably, thus preventing road accidents. Road accidents involving a pedestrian or bicyclist at high speed, commonly results in fatality, whereas at lower speeds and with greater attention on driving, fatal or serious accidents become rarer. Therefore, in order to lessen the probability of fatal or serious injury-causing road accidents, sub-standard road width should be beneficial, even if it does not follow IRC recommendations. Any way, IRC norms are mostly for highways and not urban roads.

Since squeezing-in is reduced, bottle-necking, one of the causes of road congestion in a flowing stream of vehicles also gets reduced. Therefore, providing substandard road width of 3 metres should be considered a progressive step.

Pedestrian crossings at the same level as of footpaths
The raised level of pedestrian crossing has twin functions. It is a facility that is friendly to PwD, the elderly, and also acts as a speed breaker. However, speed breakers are not friendly to people traveling in MVs. Motorised vehicles invariably move at higher speeds and have to take corrective measure to slow down suddenly, and not being able to achieve slow enough speeds to negotiate the speed breaker without jerks.

Too many speed breakers can be harmful. It speed breakers are combined with pedestrian crossings, the details must be modified to avoid the need to slow down suddenly. If speeds are not slow enough to enable the driver to brake to a halt in the event that a pedestrian moves on to the pedestrian crossing, the result could be serious, even fatal.

As raised pedestrian crossings are often part of BRTS details, it is suggested that the pedestrian crossing should be at least 3 metres wide and 15 centimetres to 20 centimetres above the road carriageway. The approach slope should be 1:50 while the leeward slope 1:15, with rumblers at about 15 metres before the beginning of the approach slope, sufficient distance for the MVs to slow down and roll over the pedestrian crossing-cum-speed breaker. This will avert suddenness and also keep speed in check.

The height of footpaths must be 15 centimetres to 20 centimetres from the road level at the kerb as a standard, and not the eight inches to ten inches that is being provided. This is to enable cars to stop closer to the kerb and allow the doors to open on to the footpath; else the cars get parked about a meter away from the kerb. Also, it must be ensured that there is no railing at the edge of the footpaths, only the posts of the railing 1.5 metres to 2 metres apart are adequate to streamline the pedestrian on to the footpaths. This would mean that autos, taxis, cars and non-BRT buses can stop closer to the kerb, while passengers are alighting or boarding the vehicles.

On congested roads, two-wheelers tend to drive on the footpath, which means there has to be greater deterrent and better enforcement rather than increased footpath height and putting up railings. Increased footpath height is very unfriendly to the whole class of people with disabilities.

Provide foot overbridge (FOB) for crossing as well as reaching BRT bus stops
Where it is necessary and space is available, providing an FOB is quite in order. However, there should be no compromise on making provisions stipulated under the Persons with Disability (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act 1995, which have to be made in any case for all public facilities. This would mean providing elevators or properly designed ramps.

It is to be understood that there are national and United Nations standard details available for making barrier-free environment, which makes the person with disability (PwD) independently mobile. Considering that there are significant numbers of PwD, the elderly, expectant ladies, the infirm and the many who are restrained from climbing stairs due to medical conditions, who need to use public transport, providing such facilities is non-negotiable. Even the law requires providing such facilities.

Mumbai is different - it has no space for all this
Is achieving mobility for 88% of the population more necessary; providing safety to the vulnerable sections of road users and implementing the Persons with Disability Act 1995 at all binding on us; and saving 4,000 lives annually more important; or will the issues of the 11% motorised vehicle users keep us from doing something worthwhile. It is for citizens to decide and demand from their political representatives, and a matter that bureaucrats must ponder over seriously.

[Sudhir Badami is a civil engineer and transportation analyst. He is on the Government of Maharashtra's Steering Committee on Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS) for Mumbai and the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority's (MMRDA) technical advisory committee on BRTS for Mumbai. He is also member of the Research & MIS Committee of Unified Mumbai Metropolitan Transport Authority (UMMTA). He was a member of the Bombay High Court-appointed erstwhile Road Monitoring Committee (2006-07). He has been an active campaigner against noise pollution for over a decade and he is a strong believer in a functioning democracy. He can be contacted on email at sudhirbadami@gmail.com.]
.......................................................................................................
Also read the comments below the article. Quite a worthwhile discussion.
Thanks bro.
Copy pasting, cross posting, for better effect. And to shut some idiots up.

Thanks bro.
Copy pasting, cross posting, for better effect. And to shut some idiots up.

+1111

How many JnNURM buses [approx.] does BEST have?
Apart from the doors, is there any difference in JnNURM buses and MUTP buses?

And is BEST still buying non AC starbuses ???

http://epaper.hindustantimes.com/PUBLICATIONS/HT/HM/2011/06/26/Article//005/26_06_2011_005_001.jpg

Thanks bro.
Copy pasting, cross posting, for better effect. And to shut some idiots up.

+1..

Like the idea of dedicated bus lanes before going in for BRTS. Though how BRTS can be implimented in Mumbai with the narrow and congested roads is to be seen. We can start off by implimenting stricter parking laws and using the outer lanes of roads for actual driving rather than illegal parking that they are used for now. This will automatically give us 2 extra lanes.

+1..

Like the idea of dedicated bus lanes before going in for BRTS. Though how BRTS can be implimented in Mumbai with the narrow and congested roads is to be seen. We can start off by implimenting stricter parking laws and using the outer lanes of roads for actual driving rather than illegal parking that they are used for now. This will automatically give us 2 extra lanes.

I have also same opinion.
The exit and entry points already captured by autos. There should be stricter rules and punishments, so that traffic will be free flow on the EE and WE.

http://epaper.hindustantimes.com/PUBLICATIONS/HT/HM/2011/07/02/Article//005/02_07_2011_005_003.jpg

Mumbai Depot Mercedes buses
http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6013/5973316995_c7ec98308c_b.jpg
Copyright mac6408

Putting up a Big Mercedes-Benz banner on the bus will surely attract a lot of people.

lol u gotta love india.

Putting up a Big Mercedes-Benz banner on the bus will surely attract a lot of people.
And MSRTC and KSRTC sure seem to be doing that.
lol u gotta love india.

Yep, and we're proud of our progress.

^^

Lol. Phir bhi mera Bharat Mahan. That's why you gotta love India. :)

^^

Lol. Phir bhi mera Bharat Mahan. That's why you gotta love India. :)
100 me se 99 beimaan, phir bhi Mera Bharat Mahan.
Atlest our buses are Good, and our roads.

the hovercraft ideas not gonna do well if theyre charging 300 rupees each way. Itll be like another BWSL type construction, one that only serves the middle and upper middle.

Well if it takes cars off the roads.... then I say go for it

^^

Where does it say so?

the hovercraft ideas not gonna do well if theyre charging 300 rupees each way. Itll be like another BWSL type construction, one that only serves the middle and upper middle.

Well if it takes cars off the roads.... then I say go for it
+1 with Rs300 each way even the upper middle class will think twice

the hovercraft ideas not gonna do well if theyre charging 300 rupees each way. Itll be like another BWSL type construction, one that only serves the middle and upper middle.

Well if it takes cars off the roads.... then I say go for it

what is your issue? do the upper middle folks not need decent transportation?

^^
:cripes:

upper middle has their cars, we need to focus on lessening the crowd on trains

All photos taken in 2007.

A Local trains moves towards churchgate from Vasai Road Station
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-eJcaRH9YTOk/Rz1I0psbEpI/AAAAAAAAAcE/75rWhVKE6kM/s800/IMG_0642.jpg


Platform no.1 Vasai Road
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-IgkGLToOSjU/Rz1I1psbEqI/AAAAAAAAAcM/kBz7y4_YwO4/s800/IMG_0643.jpg

Greenery between Naigaon - Vasai Road
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-cnramH9awSc/Rz1I65sbEvI/AAAAAAAAAc0/3aYS2hjw_io/s800/IMG_0657.jpg

Again greenery between Naigaon - Vasai Road

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-g5-EpnzJdio/Rz1I8ZsbEwI/AAAAAAAAAc8/HrJi2prkC3Q/s800/IMG_0658.jpg

Vasai Creek - between Naigaon - Bhayandar
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-zBgsHwXXHn8/Rz1I-ZsbEzI/AAAAAAAAAdU/wG7ogZOXMCU/s800/IMG_0662.jpg

Vasai East
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-OhBfZ__dPzw/Rz1JBpsbE1I/AAAAAAAAAdk/MtIolU-qmXk/s800/IMG_0696.jpg

All photos taken in 2007.

A Local trains moves towards churchgate from Vasai Road Station
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-eJcaRH9YTOk/Rz1I0psbEpI/AAAAAAAAAcE/75rWhVKE6kM/s800/IMG_0642.jpg



Any idea when these rakes are going to replaced with the newer rakes?

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/25/Mumbai_Train.JPG/800px-Mumbai_Train.JPG

MAjority of rakes on WR has been replaced. I guess only a few of them are left which will be replaced under MUTP III.CR still has a lot of them,some transferred from WR as it requires that much considering it runs on Harbour line too

According to this report MUTP 3 is scheduled for completion only in 2031 :ohno:

http://www.afternoondc.in/city-news/wb-team-visit-mutp-nmia/article_37729

Apart from MUTP phase 1 and 2, MRVC is also planning MUTP phase 3, under which an addition of 517kms, 3192 coaches has been envisioned for a cost of Rs.52,000 crores. The time horizon for MUTP phase 3 is 2031.

^^ you could be right.
They're still talking about MUTP-II upgrades. This is still good news imo : They're trying to procure non-Siemens rakes on the lines of Delhi Metro (bombardier). Should look swanky. I hope they're on track to rid of the the old and clunky RCF rakes which Coolguyz indicated in the CR and Harbor line at the same time.




Soon, bright and improved trains in Mumbai

Colourful interiors, bright steel exteriors, cushioned seats and GPS. That’s the luxury you could experience while travelling in a suburban train after two years, if all goes according to the plan.

On Thursday, the World Bank approved the manufacture of new trains that are to be procured under phase-II of the Mumbai Urban Transport Project with the electrical equipment to be installed by the German firm Bombardier Transportation.

The Mumbai Railway Vikas Corporation (MRVC), a subsidiary of the Indian Railways that is responsible for improving the infrastructure of the Mumbai suburban railway system, is co-ordinating the project.

The MRVC had appointed the National Institute of Design (NID) in Ahmedabad to redesign the new trains with advanced features that are commuter-friendly.

According to the draft design proposed by the NID, the first-class seats will be bright red in colour and those in second-class will be blue. The flooring and other interiors will be upgraded and improved.

"There will be many advanced features in the new trains such as more comfortable seats, improved blowers and GPS trackers. Talks are on with the manufacturers, Integral Coach Factory in Chennai, to finalise the steel body frame,'' said Prakash Rao Vazalwar, chief operations manager of MRVC.

"The new trains will be faster; they will run at 110 kmph. Currently, suburban trains run at 100 kmph,'' Vazalwar added.
The steel body exteriors will add an element of durability in the new trains.

"One big difference will be the visible distinction between the first-class and second-class compartments. If the new proposal of converting all seats in second-class compartment with cushion seats is passed, colour and aesthetics will have to be different in the first-class compartments,'' another official said.

Four international joint ventures — Zhuzhou CSR Times Electric from China, Bombardier from Germany, Alsthom from France and Mitusubishi Electric Corporation — had placed bids for this project.

Bombardier Transportation bagged the project by placing the lowest technically and commercially responsive offer.
Officials said that Bombardier will now sign the contract and then actual work of manufacturing shall begin. The entire process will take about two years.

Source : Link (http://www.dnaindia.com/mumbai/report_soon-bright-and-improved-trains-in-mumbai_1598574)

dont know where to share...so here
cc lemoncat1
http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6041/6269406670_385a0ce589_b.jpg

^^Lane markings would be nice...But still can't do much except expand the roads, if this happens...

^^ That looks like some part of the Easter Express Highway ...

Its western expressway I think

^^Nope.
Don't think so.
I don't recall HT lines along WEH, only along EEH.