Express City

The BEST buses constantly try and update its services. Some time ago, it started this new idea of having Rs. 20 tickets which would allow you to travel throughout the day anywhere within the suburbs north of Bandra. There was also a Rs. 25 ticket – the regulations of which I don’t know. Then there were passes for regular route travelers and a global pass for Rs. 1000 which could be used throughout Mumbai all the time.

I think after that, half the world travelling in Mumbai BEST buses started using these 20 rupee tickets and passes – school students, office goers, courier wallahs, workers, bhaji wallahs, delivery men, service men – all of them. Perhaps only those who now took tickets were the house wives who would occasionally travel to some places via the bus.

Some time ago, I confronted this new situation – the express bus, in which passes, 20 rupee ticket and 25 rupee tickets would not be sold or not be allowed. Moreover, the ticket charges in the bus would be more than the normal. The argument provided was that it would not stop on all bus stations, and was to reach the destination faster thus. However, many people did not (and still do not know about such a service). In the morning today, I decided to take this bus, just to avoid waiting too long in the queue. As the bus moved, I realized that it wasn’t still clear to people that the ‘express’ bus would not allow passes or 20 rupee tickets. So there were many people who got in and then the bus driver waited on each stop for them to get down again!

Two observations which I would like to point out –
1. Most of these 20 rupee travelers were north Indians (UP and Bihar).
2. The ‘express’ bus stopped at all stops and waited extra time to convey the message about who is allowed and not allowed.

Whom has the BEST service brought out this 20 rupee scheme for? this question might not be relevant, or politically incorrect, but the pressure on the buses is increasing day by day. everyday chaos, standing in long queues, negotiating getting in, jumping, running, crawling, sticking onto the buses, traveling has become painful. When the bus gets crowded, the corporeal experience changes – its no longer visual. the environment of a bus is then extremely polluted, people rubbing against you, stamping, farting, sweating and all of it is literally shared with everyone. the smell is suffocating, and the amount of jerks that the driver puts you in does not leave any chance of hitting on to all these ‘kinds of people’.

The time of commute is less than the time we wait for a bus. It takes me 45 minutes to travel from Churchgate to Goregaon (30 km), while one hour to go from Goregaon station to Dindoshi (1.5 km). What kind of a service is this? While new neighbourhoods have come up, it seems that the existing infrastructure has been divided into many routes. Where there were 6 buses to choose from earlier to go to my place, now there are only 3.

However, today’s travel clearly shows that the public transport has shrunk to carry only the menial working class of the city. New plans are developed for these new workers of the city. A new opportunity is seen in this migrant population which run the city. The basic standards of a bus are constantly modified – they play old songs repeatedly, earlier coupled seats are separate, they are made up in plastic, windows slide sideways, there are stop gates in the front (which are still barged)…
Whom is the city changing for? I wonder.