Have not been getting long trips since new Mumbai Metro started: Auto drivers

With the entire corridors of Metro 2A and 7 being operational for over a week midday took to the roads along the lines to see the current situation During the drive the correspondents found that while there was reduced traffic movement on Link Road below Metro 2A the situation did not change much for Western Express Highway along Metro 7 Auto rickshaw drivers said their business has been hit severely due to Metro servicesAn empty Link Road along the Metro 2A corridor on Monday PicSayyed Sameer AbediThe drive by midday saw that officegoers and daily commuters between Dahisar East and Gundavli in Andheri East and DN Nagar in Andheri West were happy with the Metro services but auto rickshaw drivers along these routes were hitMetro Line 2ADuring the drive along Link Road below Metro 2A from Dahisar East to Andheri West midday saw that there was significantly less traffic on the road Only a few places where the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation is carrying out road concretisation work had slow moving trafficThere were comparatively less vehicles on Western Express Highway near Magathane Metro station Borivli on Monday but cops and commuters said there has not been much of a change in the traffic movement on the highway PicSameer MarkandeThe correspondent also noted that below a few stations along this line twowheelers and fourwheelers were parked not only on the footpath but also on the road causing inconvenience to the vehicles on the roadAlso Read Mumbai Metro 2A and 7 Check timings full schedule and farelsquoVisibly less trafficrsquoMotorists travelling between Dahisar and Andheri via Link Road said that the journey which used to take 6090 minutes earlier has now come down to 4055 minutes Musician Abbey Fizardo said ldquoI am happy that Metro 2A has started as it reduced the road traffic on Link Road I have noticed that the number of autos and private cars on this stretch has decreased which has helped other motorists like me I think officegoers have started taking the Metro as it not only saves money but also time especially during the morning and evening peak hoursrdquoA shared auto rickshaw stand near DN Nagar station PicSayyed Sameer AbediAuto rickshaw drivers attributed the decrease in traffic to people preferring Metro over travelling by road A new shared auto rickshaw stand has also come up below DN Nagar Metro station The drivers illegally ferry four passengers from the station to Adarsh Nagar Lokhandwala and other nearby placeslsquoBusiness badly hitrsquoThe auto drivers midday spoke with said that their daily income has reduced a lot since the Metro services started Some even said that they are seeing a 50 per cent dip in their income as the number of long distance journeys has decreasedSunil Ghandat who has been driving auto rickshaws for the past nine years said ldquoBefore the Metro corridor was operational I would frequently get longdistance passengers between Andheri and DahisarBut now we mostly get passengers for a short distance The only good thing is that there is less traffic on Link Road since the Metro started which helps us save fuelrdquoFourwheelers parked on the road near a Metro station PicSayyed Sameer AbedildquoThe ones to be badly hit by the Metro services are auto drivers like us With the rise in CNG prices our income was already affected Though I have a few fixed longdistance fares daily I am worried that even these passengers will shift to taking Metro over autordquo said Sriram Prajapati who has been driving rickshaws since 1996Metro Line 7Like Link Road along Metro Line 2A a midday team on Monday travelled on Western Express Highway which runs along Metro Line 7 When the team spoke to other commuters they said there has not been any significant changes in the travel time with a maximum reduction of 10 minutes Auto rickshaw drivers however said their business has taken a serious hit since the Metro services became operationalAuto drivers wait outside Gundavli station on Monday PicSameer MarkandeNo change on WEHTraffic officials were seen on the field to mobilise traffic movement Inspector Sanjay Lad incharge of Kandivli East traffic police station told midday ldquoWe have not witnessed any drastic changes in traffic on WEH There is slow moving traffic at a few places due to ongoing civil worksrdquoAnother traffic official on the condition of anonymity told midday ldquoAs of now we have not seen any major reduction in traffic As most of the offices are in Bandra Kurla Complex where Metro services are not operational yet officegoers prefer to take other modes of transport instead of taking a Metro and then taking another mode of transport to reach their destination Many also travel from Palghar which is not connected by Metro In addition there are many who prefer BEST buses as they are not only cheaper but have better access to inside roadsrdquolsquoLost almost 6037 incomersquoAuto rickshaw drivers however told midday that Metro services have impacted their earnings Krishna Kumar Yadav an auto driver who was waiting for a passenger in Dahisar said ldquoWe have lost around 60 per cent of our income as we do not get passengers for long journeysrdquo Another auto driver Rakesh Shah said ldquoSince the Metro started till Andheri more people have started opting for it It is difficult for us to get long trips nowrdquomidday saw auto rickshaws queuing up under the flyover stretch of WEH in Andheri but there were hardly any takers Samar Bahadur Yadav who has been driving autos for the past 15 years said ldquoI have been waiting for a passenger for the past 1 hour but no luck Before the Metro services I would often get fares for Jogeshwari or Nesco and Hub Mall in Goregaon but now the demand has decreased Majority of the passengers we are getting now are school students or those travelling nearbyrdquoVilas Kumbhar who has been driving autos since 1988 said ldquoThe scenario has changed Most people who travel alone opt for Metro instead of auto as it is cheaper and faster Even if we get long trips say to Dahisar or Borivli we have to return empty It has indeed taken a toll on usrdquo