Poor shape of Navi Mumbai Municipal Transport (NMMT) buses gives torrid time to commuters. NMMT should first of all improve the efficiency to give the commuters best services. Both the conductors and drivers should work in tandem and plan their efficiency to make this possible with proper planning.
The decision to increase facilities to bus passengers has come at the right time. In the past, people from Navi Mumbai were depending on Rail service for commuting from Navi Mumbai to Mumbai. With the introduction of air conditioned buses, the people are enjoying A/C comfort at a nominal price and reach their destination well ahead of the time schedule. The NMMT service within the city is rather satisfactory. The buses stop at all bus stops, provide sufficient time to get into the bus and the passengers are happy that the drivers and conductors provide sufficient time to allow the passengers to get down from the bus also. BEST buses suffer huge loss in the wake of increase in NMMT bus services. NMMT working is different from BEST buses. Number of accidents involving BEST bus is taking place because of over speeding. The frequency of NMMT buses increases and the passengers travel at lower cost and enjoy the seating arrangement.
Moot point for NMMT is to maintain the present fleet of buses as commuter friendly and increasing their fleet to the extent of providing frequent services to the passengers. After all the passengers paying ticket cost look for better facilities, while travelling by NMMT buses. Broken glass panes. broken grills of windows, damaged windows and doors all present a pathetic look of NMMT buses.
Passengers look for comfort for the price they pay for travelling. It is time to increase more buses in busy routes and withdraw some of the buses where there is less rush. Again the number display of these buses should be in working condition, so that passengers can make out the number from a distance and go through the route by which these buses are playing within the city. At times we find that the numbers are written in chalk as well and they disappear after some time due to heavy downpour during monsoon season. It is time to make a maintenance chart within the bus and seek suggestion from the regular passengers for the betterment of the bus services.
It is a welcome sign to introduce a women’s special bus on specific routes on an experimental basis for the welfare of women passengers. Now it is time to diversify the routes to all nook corner of Navi Mumbai and give the much needed face lift. Already, Navi Mumbai commuters are suffering because to mega block on Sundays as the train services in the Harbour Line is stopped during maintenance period of rail tracks are done and up to the evening. During this hour, more trains can be pressed into service and help out the stranded passengers.
(The views expressed by the author in the article are his/her own.)
