13 July,2016 08:26 AM IST | | Shashank Rao
Transport department’s latest move comes a day after private buses were given the green light to ply on a point-to-point basis in MMR
A day after dealing a blow to state-run public transport operators by allowing private bus operators to ply permit-free in the city, the Transport Department is training its guns on app-based cab operators. Sources said the whole idea behind permitting private buses to move throughout the Mumbai Metropolitan Region was to pave way for app-based bus operators in Mumbai.
Also Read: Private buses can now ply on Mumbai roads, permit-free
The bus pooling move is aimed at reducing the number of cars on the city roads. Representational pic
Confirming the same, an RTO official said, "We are working towards the creation of apps for bus travelling, just like the app-based aggregators for cabs." If the state government agrees to allow this MMRTA decision then it would boost the running of app-based buses.
Reduce cars
The Transport department had stated that they want to reduce the number of private vehicles on road, which is rising by 12 per cent year on year. Bus pooling seems to be one of the ways, as Mumbai has 25 lakh vehicles on its roads.
The government wants people to follow this kind of bus pooling to try and gradually reduce the number of cars on road. At the last Mumbai Metropolitan Regional Transport Authority (MMRTA) meet, the authorities have taken a decision to allow private buses to move freely through Mumbai and MMR.
