Mumbai: After the state government allowed private firms to function at 10 per cent strength from Monday, several Mumbaikars went back to work, but with suburban trains being non-operational, travelling was an ordeal, as the only mode of public transport available was the BEST bus service. With passengers forming long queues extending well beyond the bus stops, it was a long drawn-out ordeal and social distancing took a hit as soon as the buses arrived, with many passengers rushing towards the doors of the bus, creating a commotion.
On Day 2, the situation was practically a repeat of Day 1, as the BEST ran the same number of buses as it did on Monday. Thus, there was poor frequency of services in all parts of the city. Tired of waiting for hours at bus stops, many Mumbaikars went back home, instead of going to work on Tuesday.
Dasrath Midigonda (Lift mechanic)
Today, for the second time, I couldn’t go to work. I had to go to Borivli and had waited for more than three hours for a BEST bus. But I could not board one and had to go back home. When buses arrived, not every one could get in.There were buses but not everyone was being allowed to board. The same thing happened on Monday, I could not make it to an assignment in Sanpada, as I could not catch a bus.
Girish Surve (Manager)
On an average day, I have to travel for 90 minutes to reach my workplace at the Bandra-Kurla Complex from Virar, after leaving home, around 8am. However, with the lockdown restrictions, local trains are not running and I am compelled to take a BEST bus from Virar to BKC. It took me double the time compared to before. So now, I travel for six hours to get to the workplace and work for eight hours.
Swapnil V Natekar (Dy. manager in pvt company
)We have been asked to rejoin duty. Earlier, I took the train to work but after the lockdown, trains are yet to start. By bus, it takes more than an hour to reach office, so I have to go in my personal car and am shelling out extra money for fuel. There are many like me on the roads, so there was a huge traffic jam during peak hours. It took me hours to reach my office at Mazgaon from Ghatkopar. I can only hope the lockdown is over ASAP and we all start living a normal life.
Ritesh Chopra (Automobiles sales executive)
It took me almost three-and-a-half hours to commute from my residence in Malad to my office at Grant Road. As there are no trains, I had to change two buses, one from Malad to Dadar and then catch another one from Dadar to Grant Road. The '25-30 passenger maximum in a bus' norm is difficult to follow, as there are many passengers who have been waiting for hours, to get a bus. I could not board three buses because they were already full. I generally reach office within an hour, so this commute was very long. They should increase the frequency of buses so that people can move faster. Everybody is depending on BEST buses to reach work.
Abhishek Yadav (corporate communications executive)
Maintaining social distancing during a commute is impossible in Mumbai. Mumbaikars already saw this on Monday and the same happened on Tuesday as well. On the one hand, with BEST being the only mode of public transport available, commuting is taking a lot of time and it is also unsafe. There is nobody to manage the queues outside bus stops and it has become very hard to adhere to social distancing norms.
Sagar Dapse (private firm employee)
It generally takes about an hour to reach my workplace at Santacruz from Andheri. But now, it is taking us nearly three hours to do so. With the government relaxing the norms, people are compelled to go to work but at the same time, it is inconvenient and non-feasible also. The monsoon season is on the cards and things will become worse once it starts pouring.
