MMRDA's 'Public Transport Day' struggles to shift Mumbai's travel habits

THE first lsquoPublic Transport Dayrsquo on Friday a Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority MMRDA initiative received an underwhelming response on Friday as per commuters at BandraKurla Complex who were aware of the usual ridershipShare autorickshaw drivers near ICICI BankAccording to a staffer from the MMRDArsquos lsquosmartrsquo payandpark facility near ICICI Tower not much impact was seen on the ground and there were only 10 to 12 fewer cars than usual According to BEST and Cityflo staffers there were significantly more bus trips with twice as many buses as usual operating during peak hoursRuchi Bura a World Resources Institute volunteer right Shawn Bishwas at the MMRDArsquos lsquosmartrsquo payandpark facility near ICICI Bank in BandraKurla Complex PicsSatej ShindeVolunteerSpeakVolunteers from the World Resources Institute and MMRDA were seen promoting the initiative on the ground across nine locations including the BDB family court and BKC Metro bus stops and Kurla Bandra and Sion railway stations mdash between 845 am and 1030 am and from 5 pm to 7 pm Ruchi Bura a college student volunteering at BKC Metro station said ldquoI am here to promote this initiative because I believe in the cause The roads are already congested If we start understanding the importance of using public transport now hopefully there will be a changerdquolsquoBehavioural change is crucialrsquoBenjamin Hickman project manager United Nations Environment Programme UNEP visited the MMRDA headquarters to meet Metropolitan Commissioner Sanjay Mukherjee on Friday ldquoDuring the meeting he expressed his appreciation for the Public Transport Day initiative to the MMRDA commissionerrdquo said a MMRDA spokespersonHickman told midday ldquoWe support this initiative Public transport is a critical way to plan sustainable cities going forward Mumbai already has a lot of public transport but what we need to be doing is building the case for its usage by driving behavioural changerdquoWhat COMMUTERs present at bandrakurla Complex had to sayPublic transport usersAtish Unhawne Vikhroli residentlsquoI travelled by train to Kurla I didnrsquot see any special surge in ridership or crowd at Kurla station not sure about buses because they are usually overcrowded and not very frequentrsquoManga Gautham Kumar commuterlsquoI walk from ICICI Tower to BKC Metro station every evening In the morning itrsquos scorching hot so I take a share auto Buses have a frequency of 1520 minutes which is a very long wait so itrsquos better to walk I didnrsquot see any difference in the Metro footfall today The footpath was as busy as alwaysPrivate transport usersShawn Bishwas Malad residentlsquoI drive to BKC regularly Irsquom a sales executive and I have to wear suits and carry a heavy laptop bag and other necessary materials which makes public transport difficult Our public transport is often overcrowded and cramped and though the BKC Metro station is a 10minute walk from offices its very hard to manage in a suit especially in Mumbairsquos heat For those who come once in the morning and leave in the evening public transport may work out but for a salespeople who must move continuously from one block to another a personal car is much more convenient When I donrsquot have meetings I do take the Metro for convenience and to save moneyrsquoRohit Yadav Chembur residentlsquoI ride to my office here as it saves time and money If I take the train I also have to rely on share autorickshaws because the bus frequency is low Public Transport Day doesnrsquot seem to be seeing much success because commuters canrsquot afford that much extra time to walk or take the bus for the last mile autos cabs and personal vehicles currently offer convenience and save time by vast marginsrsquo