TMT, ST to add more services after pvt buses go off streets

THANE: Commuting from Ghodbunder Road to Thane station in a Thane Municipal Transport (TMT) bus or a State Transport (ST) will be easier, as both the public transport bodies have decided to run extra services on this stretch. The initiative of deploying extra buses and more services on Thane-Ghodbunder road was taken following the stringent action taken upon the private buses ferrying passengers by the police and the Regional Transport Office.While the TMT will ply 30 services, the MSRTC will deploy 10 buses.
The NCP leader and deputy chairperson of the state legislative council Vasant Davkhare had called a joint meeting of transport agencies and asked them to take action against private buses that were eating into the profits of the TMT and MSRTC last Friday. Accordingly, the authorities embarked on a special drive against private buses
from Monday onwards. Following the meeting, around 46 private buses were intercepted by the RTO authorities. To ease commuting woes, it was decided to increase frequencies of bus services and introduce some routes.
"Our buses will ply on the same routes, as that of the private buses, so that passengers are not inconvenienced. With more services we are hopeful of diverting more commuters to our services," said a public transport officer.
Residents are thrilled over this new development and have welcomed the move. "We always had to wait for hours together to get buses from our area. The frequency was always bad and hiring an auto was not always feasible," said Rajani Mhatre, a commuter from Kasarvadavli.
Another resident who regularly commutes between Manpada -Teen Haath Naka said, he would always prefer travelling by TMT buses instead of the private ones. "I got to know from the newspapers that these buses are plying illegally and since then I have been travelling by TMT buses. I am glad that they are increasing their bus frequencies," said the software professional who works for a firm in Powai.
However, despite the clamp down, TOI did spot some private buses plying on the highway on Thursday evening and halting at certain stops.
RTO M B Jadhav said, maintained that the drive will be ongoing"We have deployed our staff based on the number of private buses plying passengers without valid permits on city roads. However, those buses that have a contract with residential complexes and are ferrying residents will not be penalized," he said.
The TMT has informed that it has deployed five buses on the Wadawli naka Ghodbunder- Thane railway station east route and introduced 30 new services. The TMT started its services from Thursday while the MSRTC will start running its buses from Friday. The MSRTC plans to deploy around 10 buses on the Thane-Borivli route that will service the Ghodbunder sector in addition to three new services during the morning peak hours from Gaimukh to Thane railway station west.