Mumbai commuters fume over state govt decision to stop illegal bus shuttles; transport minister reiterates action on aggregator buses, cabs, or bike taxis flouting rules
" Uber Shuttle will completely shut down from Saturday morning.
On Friday, Sarnaik issued an official directive that legal action will be taken against private transport businesses, including buses, cars, and bike taxis, if they violate rules.
Those using Cityflo and Uber Shuttles for daily commutes to office and back told TOI that if these app-based buses go off roads, they would be inconvenienced. Cityflo continues to operate and no action initiated so far, sources said.
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"It will deprive commuters the benefit of travelling comfortably in these premium app-based buses which guarantee confirmed seats," said Sandeep Sinha, who takes the Uber Shuttle from Thane Viviana Mall to BKC regularly and travels in BharatBenz buses.
These shuttles connect Navi Mumbai, Thane, and Mumbai to commercial hubs such as BKC and Nariman Point, catering to commuters in over 500 private buses.
Raising the issue of aggregator buses in the legislative council on Friday, BJP MLC Niranjan Davkhare said Cityflo buses were a boon for office-goers and should not be banned.
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"Take action against them if there are any violations, but do not ban them," he urged. Vashi resident Shweta Desai, a Cityflo user, said, "Cityflo is a hit with commuters travelling the north-south corridor of the city or from Mumbai to Thane/Navi Mumbai.
It has led to ease of commuting to the office and back, with routes from Vashi to Andheri, Worli, or south Mumbai commercial hubs."
Deepa Mukherjee from Mulund said, "I travel comfortably to Goregaon East unlike waiting in a long queue for BEST AC buses."
Experts said that under the central govt guidelines, state should have taken the initiative to issue licences to app-based buses under the aggregator policy. On Friday, a group of experts participated in discussions on how to go ahead with the state's Premium Bus Aggregator policy at a meeting by the Maharashtra Institution for Transformation.
Netizens poured their anger against the action on aggregator bus shuttles on social media.
"Why are these ministers after public convenience? At least these bus services make pathetic roads, highly congested road journeys bearable," said one post on X. Another post stated: "Citizens ask 'Can we get more BEST buses?' & govt says No; Citizens say 'Ok, we will use pvt buses' & Govt says 'Sorry, not allowed. We will take them off the roads too'.
" A netizen posted on X: "Those people who want better service and are ready to pay should get it — that's what Cityflo and other players are giving.
Why should govt have a problem? If Ola and Uber cabs can run, why not buses?", while another wrote: "First you cannot provide good public transport buses, and now you do not want to allow anyone offering good bus service to us. This is anti-citizen."
— Inputs by Clara Lewis
Status: Not Approved
HEAD: 11_Mum_SS_Citizens Fume aggregator bus shuttles
Byline: None
Commuters express anger as government stops unlicensed bus shuttles and uber shuttle shuts down
Commuters fume over transport minister's decision to stop bus shuttles operating without licence; Uber Shuttle off platform from today.
Minister reiterates action on aggregator buses, cabs, or bikes flouting rules; meets senior transport officials on Friday.
Somit Sen & Clara Lewis
Mumbai: Hundreds of daily office-goers were angry on Friday, with many criticising on social media, over the transport minister's latest decision to take action against all private aggregator bus shuttles for "operating across MMR without a licence from state govt."
Uber's shuttle will completely shut down from Saturday morning, and the impact will be felt on Monday.
Minister Pratap Sarnaik also issued an official directive on Friday afternoon that legal action will be taken against private transport businesses, including buses, cars, and bike taxis, if they violated the rules. Those using Cityflo and Uber shuttles for daily commutes to the office and back told this newspaper that if such buses go off roads, it will leave them stranded.
"It will deprive citizens of the benefits of travelling comfortably in these premium app-based buses which guarantee confirmed and comfortable reclined seats," said Sandeep Sinha, who takes the Uber shuttle from Thane Viviana Mall to Bandra-Kurla Complex regularly and travels in BharatBenz buses.
The issue came up in Vidhan Bhavan on Friday. Raising the issue of aggregator buses in the legislative council on Friday, BJP MLC Niranjan Davkhare said the Cityflo buses were a boon for office-goers and should not be banned.
"Take action against them if there are any violations but do not ban them," he said.
Vashi resident Shweta Desai, a Cityflo user, said, "Cityflo is a superhit with commuters travelling the north-south corridor of the city or from Mumbai to Thane/Navi Mumbai. It has led to ease of commuting to the office and back, with routes from Vashi to Andheri, Worli, or south Mumbai commercial hubs." Deepa Mukherjee from Mulund said, "I travel comfortably to Goregaon East unlike waiting in a long queue for BEST AC buses.
"
These bus shuttles connect Navi Mumbai, Thane, and Mumbai to commercial hubs such as BKC and Nariman Point, catering to commuters in over 500 private buses. "It has good suspension, zero standees, reclining seats, charging points, personal AC vents, etc.," said Amit Phadnis, a commuter.
Experts said that under Central govt guidelines, the state should have taken the initiative to issue licences to such app-based buses under the Aggregator policy and issue licences.
In fact, on Friday, a group of experts participated in discussions on how to go ahead with the Premium Bus Aggregator policy of Maharashtra at a meeting by the Maharashtra Institution for Transformation (Mitra).
Some of the tweets on X stated: "Why are these ministers after public convenience? At least these bus services make pathetic roads, highly congested road journeys bearable." "Shuttle is a good option (for office-goers), yet the govt is taking the decision to shut down services."
"Those people who want better service and are ready to pay should get it -- that's what Cityflo and other players are giving. Why should govt have a problem? If Ola and Uber cabs can run, why not buses?" "First you cannot provide good public transport buses, and now you do not want to allow anyone offering good bus service to us.
This is anti-citizen." "Mr Sarnaik, how about investing more in BEST. Looks like you're busy troubling Mumbaikars rather than helping them." "Citizens ask 'Can we get more BEST buses?' & govt says No; Citizens say 'Ok, we will use pvt buses' & Govt says 'Sorry, not allowed. We will take them off the roads too.'"
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