Passenger numbers on Mumbai’s public transport fall on Monday

Passengers get in and out of a train at Dadar railway station on Monday. Pic/Suresh Karkera

The first working day after the weekend lockdown saw average crowds on Mumbai's public transport. While the number of services was full on the railways on Monday, there was a dip in passenger numbers. A drop was witnessed in BEST commuters too.

The official compiled figures will be out on Wednesday, but mid-day took a ride onboard a local train and found that there were little crowds during the peak hours, but in the afternoon the trains were empty. Railway officials said that there were about 10 lakh to 12 lakh passengers on Monday compared to nearly 20 lakh every day.

"One needs to remember that peak hour timings onboard trains are still restricted to essential workers, and there are no restrictions on their travel as government offices, banks and other utility services are working. There are restrictions on private offices, but not on government offices, so rush hour passengers will remain," a senior official said.

A senior BEST official said that statistics for Monday would be compiled after the last bus of the day left, but overall observation was that there was less crowd. "It was better than the weekend, but still very low compared to any average working day," an official said. Sources also attributed the less crowd to two bank holidays on Tuesday and Wednesday and said the numbers may be higher after that if there is no lockdown or new restrictions.

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Mumbai taxi and auto drivers are upset with the state government for making it mandatory for them to possess latest COVID-19 negative reports, saying it was an expensive affair. "We will appeal to the government to allow testing of auto and taxi drivers for free if they want us to follow the rule. It is leading to a lot of chaos," a senior trade union leader said.