​AC bus services on freeway from today

MUMBAI: For the first time, AC buses will ply on the Eastern Freeway to provide faster connectivity between Navi Mumbai and Mumbai from Monday morning.
At present, both BEST and MSRTC ferry passengers on the Eastern Freeway in non-AC buses.
The MSRTC will run the new AC buses from Panvel to Mantralaya — with two trips planned during the morning and evening peak hours.The services will be initially available only on weekdays and subsequently be extended to weekends depending
on demand.
Said MSRTC public relations officer Mukund Dhus, “We had initially planned five major stops between Panvel and Mantralaya. But after getting feedback from people, we have decided to add two more stops at Kamothe and Vashi village.” The first service will start from Panvel at 8.15 am on Monday and the bus will halt at Kamothe, Kharghar, CBD Konkan Bhavan, Nerul, Vashi highway, Vashi village and Mumbai CST before reaching Mantralaya. It will take 1 hour and 20 minutes to cover the entire distance. Said Dhus, “After completing two trips in the morning, the AC bus will be lying idle, which is why we have decided to operate additional services between Panvel and Thane.” As a result, passengers from the industrial belt between Panvel and Thane will also benefit from the air-conditioned services.
Said Nitin Mahajan, a resident of Nerul, “Though there have been AC buses run by the NMMT to south Mumbai, this is the first time that the bus is taking the
EFW route.”