The Navi Mumbai Municipal Transport (NMMT) has revised the fares of its air-conditioned buses from October 23. A reduction of up to 46 per cent is aimed at attracting more passengers. Last month, the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Transport Authority (MMRTA), headed by the State Transport Secretary, had approved the fare reduction proposal. NMMT runs buses on 77 routes, of which AC buses run on 14 routes that connect Navi Mumbai with Mumbai, Thane and Dombivali.
With revised fares, commuters will have to pay Rs 10 for the first two km of their journey instead of Rs 15, which is a 33 per cent reduction. For 12-14 km distance, commuters will shell out Rs 27 instead of Rs 50, a reduction of 46 per cent. The maximum fare for travelling up to 40 km will be Rs 65, which was earlier Rs 110, a reduction of 41 per cent.
At present, the NMMT operates a total of 475 buses and some special services, with a total route length of 1,895 km. An average route is approximately 26 km, with a maximum of 62 km and minimum of 3 km. Around three lakh passengers take NMMT buses daily. However, due to lockdown, the buses were being used only for essential services. It’s only recently that they started operating at full capacity.
Despite the transport undertaking running at a loss, the reason behind reduction in fare is said to be attracting more commuters. “By reducing the fare, we will attract more passengers who travel by taxis. We will break even with the rise in the number of passengers,” said a senior NMMT official.
