Mumbai’s public transport cheapest in world: Study

Passengers stand in a queue at a ticket counter at Andheri railway station. File pic/Satej Shinde

Mumbai has the cheapest public transport in the world, according to analysts from Picodi, a global ticketing discount firm. The company reached this conclusion after researching public transport fares in 45 cities across the world and juxtaposing transport expenses with average local wages. However, when a comparison is made within India itself, when it comes to the monthly passes, citizens of Mumbai have to pay the highest price - Rs 3,570. The cheapest monthly pass - Rs 370 - can be found in Nagpur.

"In our study, we took a closer look at single-ticket prices, as well as monthly passes, which allow for unlimited travel within the city limits. In three out of 45 cities, public transport is completely free for citizens - Luxembourg, the capital of Estonia, Tallinn and the capital of Malta, Valletta. Among other cities in our ranking, the most expensive single tickets can be found in London ($5.19), Zurich ($4.75) and Oslo ($3.91). On the other hand, the highest prices for monthly passes are paid by citizens of London ($271), Dublin ($166) and New York ($127). For comparison, a monthly pass in Mumbai costs only $15," a report put out by the firm stated.

"When we juxtapose the monthly pass prices with the average monthly wages, the least favourable ratio can be found in São Paulo, where the monthly access to all means of public transport in the city costs 14.3 per cent of the average wage. Second and third place in terms of cost belongs to Istanbul and London (7.5 per cent and 7.4 per cent of the average wage respectively). In this ranking, Mumbai is among the cheapest cities - a monthly pass costs Rs 1,250, which is only 2.4 per cent of the average net wage in Mumbai. This result is similar to ratios in Dubai (2.3 per cent) and New York (2.1 per cent)," it added.

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However, when a comparison is made between cities and townships in India, the picture was different. When it comes to the monthly passes, citizens of Mumbai have to pay the highest price. Explaining the methodology of the study, the report states it was based on the prices of single tickets and monthly passes offered by local public transport operators as of March 2023. The monthly passes included in this study allow for unlimited travel with all means of transportation within the city limits.

Transport experts took the study with a pinch of salt. "A Mumbai monthly pass looks costly in comparison with those of other cities (in India) but it is still very low by global standards. Its price can be raised by 2.74 per cent to about 5 per cent," said A V Shenoy, senior transport expert with Mumbai Mobility Forum & Mumbai Vikas Samiti.

Urban transport expert Jagdeep Desai said, "It depends a lot on subsidies, purchasing power, first-to-last distances, upper and lower-class fares. The highest fare in Mumbai is for travelling in air-conditioned suburban locals. In Nagpur, it must be for the Metro. Plus, Mumbai's first-to-last distances are far longer than Nagpur's."

Jitendra Gupta of Citizens Transport Committee said, "We forget about the volume of passengers that move in India and the revenue generated. Both must be the highest in the world. So the operating cost comes down drastically. Again, if incomes are low in India that means the cost of paying salaries to staff by Railways also comes down. So from every aspect, the running cost of the system comes down against extraordinary revenue generated by the sale of tickets and passes. Despite Railways' huge budget, are they providing anything like world-class services for passengers?"

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No. of cities where public transport is free