Colourful buses to ferry commuters to BKC

Here is a piece of news the office-goers, who travel to the business district of Bandra-Kurla Complex (BKC), from Bandra, Kurla and Sion will relish. Taking note of the growing number of people travelling to BKC for work-related purposes on a daily basis, the Mumbai Metropolitan Region development Authority (MMRDA) has decided to collaborate with the Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) administration to start a dedicated bus service from Bandra, Kurla and Sion to BKC.

Taking note of the growing number of office-goers travelling to the business district, the MMRDA along with BEST have decided to start a special service to BKC. Representation pic

Confirming the development, MMRDA Commissioner Rahul Asthana said, "With new offices coming up in the business district of BKC, the number of commuters travelling to BKC from Bandra, Kurla and Sion has gone up drastically. Demands were made to start dedicated bus services to BKC from the following locations. So the MMRDA along with the BEST will be starting a special bus service to BKC."

The buses plying on the BKC route would be different from other BEST buses, as the MMRDA wants these vehicles to look more attractive and different from the regular buses. "These will be low-floor buses and the most attractive aspect of these buses will be their colours. The multi-coloured buses will not only provide commuters with a better journey, but will also help them identify at the station itself that they will be going to BKC," MMRDA Joint Project Director Dilip Kawathkar said.

Officials said the MMRDA would be spending about Rs 7 crore for purchasing 20 low-floor buses, which would be maintained and operated by the BEST. However, both the parties are yet to decide on a revenue sharing formula. Sources in the MMRDA also revealed that BEST had conducted several trial runs at the BKC by the end of 2012.

It has been observed that those travelling to BKC from Bandra and Kurla face commuting woes due to low frequency of BEST buses. The situation worsens during peak hours, as buses arriving at the stops are already jampacked.

Taking advantage of this situation, auto drivers charge commuters Rs 15 per seat to ply them to BKC, which is three times the bus fare. Though the BEST has already started two ring route buses, one from Bandra to BKC Telephone exchange and the other from Kurla to MMRDA building, commuters feel that paying Rs 10 per trip is expensive.

Rs 7 cr
The amount the MMRDA would spend to purchase 20 low-floor busesu00a0