Mumbai: Bhandup Residents’ Agitation Leads to Restoration of Cancelled BEST Bus Routes, Increased Services | Mumbai News
Mumbai: A citizens’ agitation in Bhandup recently resulted in the BEST administration restoring bus routes that were scrapped or short-terminated and also increasing the number of buses operating in the area. Supported by the local Shiv Sena and a few activists, citizen protesters forced BEST to resume discontinued services after passengers faced higher fares when forced to travel by autorickshaws, said regular commuter and bus fan Yash Mhadgut.“The buses were deployed on the Bhandup routes, and the administration reinstated 605 and 606 to their original courses after being short-terminated, while services on 608 also returned to normal,” said another bus fan, Shubham Padave.Advocate Karan Shinde, a local commuter, said scrapping and short-terminating bus services impacted 20,000 to 30,000 commuters who rely on the service to connect with local train timings. He said the decision not only inconvenienced passengers but also increased passenger load on remaining services and pushed commuters towards more expensive and unreliable modes like autos and Uber/Ola. He welcomed BEST’s decision to restore all services.Rajool Patil, a political and social activist who was part of the protesters near Bhandup railway station recently, said, “The agitation was supported by the local Shiv Sena and a few activists. BEST administration has not just bowed to citizens’ demand and resumed services, but also increased the number of buses for better frequency. It will benefit scores of residents in the area who depend largely on public transport buses.“Suresh Nandire from Bhandup said that there were initially two types of buses for the hilly narrow tracts of Bhandup West. “They introduced six-metre-long and nine-metre-long buses. Since the latter had problems in taking a turn at a few locations and there was traffic congestion and delays, the six-metre buses were taken off completely. Now only 9-metre Midi buses are plying.”A BEST official said, “Small buses have their advantages in some pockets of the city where it is not easy for the 12-metre-long bus to operate.” Small buses can navigate through narrower, more congested residential streets, providing crucial connectivity to many Bhandup neighbourhoods that might not be accessible to larger buses. Bhandup has several homes along the hilly areas, and there are lanes and bylanes which can be accessed either by share autos (which are also popular here) or the small buses.Yogesh Mhatre from Bhandup West said, “There is a huge demand for the buses. Many senior citizens and school students depend on these buses, while office-goers also stand in long queues outside railway stations during peak hours to catch these popular buses in Bhandup.”Mhadgut recalled that citizens were left fuming when the bus services were short-terminated or scrapped on November 1. “For example, the Bhandup station to Tembipada bus, which got short-terminated, upset many passengers. Another two routes were Hanuman Nagar to Bhandup and Kanjurmarg stations. I am happy that Bhandupkars have got their demands fulfilled and the services have been restored back to normal.”
