The state government has appointed a task force to work on the much-talked-about single-ticketing method for the integrated bus transport plan. In simple terms, it means that one can hop on any bus run by the civic bodies across the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) with a common ticket.
The 12-member task force will be headed by the general manager of the BEST Undertaking.
Notably, the group will devise a way for single-ticketing for buses, while the ultimate aim is to cover the suburban railway network, and metro and mono services.
As of now, the task given to the new panel is to work on a single-ticket experience for seamless travel through integrated bus transport in the MMR. Accordingly, the civic chiefs of Thane, Navi Mumbai, Kalyan-Dombivali, Vasai-Virar, Mira-Bhayandar, Bhiwandi-Nizampur, Ulhasnagar, Panvel and the BMC's additional municipal commissioner will be the members of the task force. The chief of the transport and communication wing of the MMRDA will be the member secretary.
The directives for setting up the task force were given by the regulatory body of the Mumbai Growth Hub, which is headed by CM Devendra Fadnavis, in a meeting on April 7.
The concept of the growth hub has been mooted by the NITI Aayog to attract foreign investment, encourage start-ups and boost employment generation by preparing a financial master plan for the MMR.
Fadnavis, on several occasions, has spoken about introducing single-ticketing for all transport modes in the MMR.
