As the recently inaugurated Mumbai Metro -- lines 2A and 7 -- began operations, mid-day took to the roads along the metro route to witness the situation. During a test drive, mid-day found that while there was reduced traffic movement on Link Road below Metro 2A, the situation did not change much on the Western Express Highway (WEH) along Metro line 7. The auto rickshaw drivers said their businesses had been severely impacted due to the new metro lines. See pics Pics/Mid-day Photo Team
Updated On: 2023-01-31 03:22 PM IST
No let up in traffic jams on the Western Express Highway. This picture was clicked on Western Express Highway near Gundavli Metro station, on Monday. Pics/Sameer Markande
An empty link road along the Metro's 2A corridor on Monday. The drive by mid-day saw that the daily commuters between Dahisar East and Andheri East (Gundavli) and DN Nagar in Andheri West were happy with the new Metro lines, but auto rickshaw drivers along these routes were hit Pic/Sayyed Sameer Abedi
The auto drivers claim that their daily income has reduced a lot since the new Mumbai Metro services became operational. Some auto drivers mentioned that they are seeing a 50 per cent dip in their income as the number of long-distance journeys have decreased. (A shared auto rickshaw stand near DN Nagar station. Pic/Sayyed Sameer Abedi)
Mumbai Traffic officials were seen on the field to mobilise traffic movement. Inspector Sanjay Lad, in-charge of Kandivli East traffic police station, told mid-day, “We have not witnessed any drastic changes in traffic on Western Express Highway. There is slow-moving traffic at a few places due to ongoing civil works.” (Four-wheelers parked on the road near a Metro station Pic/Sayyed Sameer Abedi)
