Office-goers allege that the public transporter nipped route A-101 to favour the illegal taxi mafia ferrying customers to Gateway
To ferry more passengers, the cabbies have put plastic tables and chairs inside the cab
It has been more than two weeks that the BEST Undertaking, without any prior notification, cancelled their daily A-101 bus service from CSMT to Gateway from February 19. While the department has claimed that the reason for the cancellation was a poor response from commuters, regular office-goers have accused them of favouring the taxi lobby.
ADVERTISEMENT
The CSMT bus service — Gateway bus route A-101, including Tejaswini buses used to ply from a point opposite the Bhatia Baug bus stop, which is a hotspot for illegal taxi stands to ferry commuters to Gateway of India.
BEST then introduced the mini-AC bus and Tejaswini, it destabilised the taxi operators outside CSMT. The impact of the new services was such that the taxi drivers in the city, including Kaali-peeli drivers, protested last month inside the Tardeo RTO (Regional Transport Office) compound against the loss of income with more commuters shifting to buses.
"The taxi operators here are a very powerful lobby. Despite the traffic police presence, they ferry nine to ten people on plastic stools and tables inside the cabs. The RTO and traffic police are well-aware of the violations. No wonder they got the BEST to adjust or cancel the service. There are two sets of taxi stands, one which takes the passengers via General Post Office and the other via Dr D N Road," Swapnil Mishra, a commuter, said.
Despite the presence of traffic cops, cabbies are known to ferry nine to 10 people
While the traffic police department has ignored the issue of overloaded taxis, RTO said they don't have staff for enforcement. Mumbai Taximen Union Secretary Anthony Quadros refuted the allegation that the taxi stand was illegal. "The taxi stands are legal, but the operators and drivers there might be running a share taxi scheme with the support of local authorities," he told mid-day.
However, a few commuters have accused the government of mismanagement. "If the BEST can say their buses do not get a response outside CSMT station during peak hours, what can we say? What else can we expect with Shiv Sena government in power?" government employee Mughda D said.
A BEST spokesperson said the decision to discontinue buses was taken on February 19. "Route A-101 was discontinued due to poor response of passengers. Instead, we are now running buses on route 9 from Mahatma Phule Market to Colaba at an interval of eight minutes. In addition, we have also posted a BEST inspector at the Bhatia Baug stop," he said.
However, commuters have rejected the new services. Previously, the buses coming from Bhatia Baug would be empty, but now they come from Crawford jam-packed said commuters.
Moreover, route 9 bus goes ahead to Fort instead of halting at Bhatia stop.
BEST Committee member and former chairman Anil Kokil said, "Thanks for bringing this to our notice. I have spoken with BEST concerned department and they have agreed that from Friday onwards, buses will be available and also an inspector (BEST officer) will be posted on the site to facilitate easy commuting."
The CSMT traffic division did not answer mid-day's queries.
Catch up on all the latest Mumbai news, crime news, current affairs, and also a complete guide on Mumbai from food to things to do and events across the city here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates
Subscribe today by clicking the link and stay updated with the latest news!" Click here!
