Travelled in several Modes of Public Transport in Mumbai within hours yesterday

I had to vist Bandra from my office in Fountain for meetings late afternoon yesterday

With Mumbai’s notorious Traffic and Car Parking Woes and the fact that it was not peak hour,I bravely,like Millions of Mumbaikars do daily,ventured by the Local Train on the Western Line

Fortunately Churchgate is the originating Station so I got a seat easily in Class II of the 2.51 pm “Virar Fast”…Just as the Train was to commence it’s run,an announcement made be get off quickly..it would not stop at Bandra….I switched to a Slow Train which commenced it’s run a few minutes later and within half an hour had reached Bandra

After finishing off one meeting at an Office near the Station on the West Side,I crossed over to the East Side through the Station again.

After over Ten Auto-rickshaw rejects,I managed to flag one to take me to my destination across the Western Express Highway, on the east side from Bandra Station…Later returning Home I reached Bandra Station by Auto,then got onto a Fast return train,switched to another at Mumbai Central as an announcement reverberated through the train that it would be running non stop to Churchgate and I needed to alight at Grant Road

Alighting at Grant Road,I has planned to cab it but instead hopped on to a waiting Bus ‘155’.This runs a circular route that originates and terminates at the Station.So easily got a Seat.It deposited me within Ten Minutes at the Bustop right at the lane where I reside

Rs 12 Return Train Ticket…Rs 15 and Rs 10 for Auto-rickshaw rides and Rs 5 for the Bus Ticket…That’s an aggregate of Rs 42 spend on three common modes of Public Transport and I finished my work and round trip inside Two Hours….A car or a cab ride to and fro,with time for my work too, would have taken over three hours and cost me over Rs 300 + traffic and parking woes

Mumbai Bus and Train Routes are well organised and run pretty much punctually and are the cheapest and fairly quick modes of Public Transport…..truly the Lifeline of Mumbai….so next time you ‘status’ conscious and ‘used to car and driver’ types…don’t snigger at Train or Bus Travel….you’ll save both Time and Money,and at not too much of a compromise,unless it’s peak morning and evening hours…..Remember how the heads of the US Auto majors got the US Public mad…they flew into Washington from Detroit in their private planes with a begging bowl to plead for government bail-outs of billions of dollars to survive….Next time they drove down !    

Salute the Millions of Mumbaikars who commute daily through these modes of Public Transport…one of my office guys lives in Uttan…he has to commute on the Western Line by Train to and Fro from Bhayander everyday..that’s over Three hours..then a Bus takes him to and fro from his house in Uttan….that’s another one hour…So he’s travelling to and fro from work for over Four Hours every day to work for Eight hours every day….so  if he’s a little late at office,and this happens rarely,it’s really alright !

Some Warning though…Beware of Pickpockets…keep your Wallet in your Front Pant Pocket…keep Expensive Pens and watches and Chains out of sight…grip your mobile well….there is a sea of humanity in the Trains as well as on all Stations and Pick Pocketing and Chain Snatching is not uncommon and never underestimate the skills of those who indulge in it !