[Maverick1977]

Originally Posted by Lij

The government is all set to make our roads safer (atleast in Maharashtra) by the addition of a new cess for "Road Safety Fund" from October 24.

Is this supposed to be some cruel joke on car buyers? We pay road tax for surfaces which are anything but ROADS! The traffic snarls make us waste precious fuel (which is already taxed heavily) and of course as soon as you step out or come back to the city there are tolls on every point.

I know we don't have a choice but to pay this tax, but can the Govt. be so kind enough to be transparent in this. Don't we have a right to know how this money is going to be used or what it has been used to make the roads safer. Has it reduced fatalities in any way. And if there is no improvement in the next 2 years they should refund the money collected. I know the last point is super wishful thinking but then I am also just one damn common man who thinks well for his country and its people.

[ghodlur]

Originally Posted by Maverick1977

Is this supposed to be some cruel joke on car buyers? We pay road tax for surfaces which are anything but ROADS! The traffic snarls make us waste precious fuel (which is already taxed heavily) and of course as soon as you step out or come back to the city there are tolls on every point.

One more money making scheme by the government. This was absolutely unnecessary. What does the government think on improving the public transportation? I was told the metro 4 project from Ghatkopar to Thane has a budget of Rs 12000 crores. Why doesn't the government free the BEST from the political shackles and order about 100+ odd buses (AC and non AC). The max budget could be around say less than 100 crores. Increase and improve the connectivity instead of the Metro. Tax payer's money being wasted in unrequired projects which aim more to fill the politician pockets rather than benefit common man.

Given an option I am willing to chuck the car for my daily commute and opt for a relaxed ride in an AC bus.

[Dieseltuned]

Originally Posted by ghodlur

Increase and improve the connectivity instead of the Metro. Tax payer's money being wasted in unrequired projects which aim more to fill the politician pockets rather than benefit common man.

Given an option I am willing to chuck the car for my daily commute and opt for a relaxed ride in an AC bus.

I disagree here. How is the metro not helping the "Connectivity" ?
The Versova - Ghatkopar corridor is a prime example of what was missing in the city. (the east -west connectivity). Take a ride even in non peak hours and you would realise the importance it has got.

Another example of the Metro which the government has very rightly taken up on priority is the Metro 7 on the WEH. WEH was the most clogged road in the city and in dire need of urgent action and this was promptly done. This must be appreciated. Metro 7 is infact a very good example of how efficiently a government machinery can function if there is a will to do things behind it.

Buses though I agree that they will be cheaper, but there are 3 things that are still not working for the buses and has worked in favour of the Metro.

1. Introducing more buses is not going to bring in the Car driving Junta to the buses. BEST has tried this and failed miserably. Who is going to maintain those buses. They simply do not have the skilled man power to maintain these buses.

2. And most importantly the traffic / bad roads. Where is the space to add more roads to the city ? (Remember the coastal road project, that is still stuck for clearances). Where will you find roads to run these more buses ?(Metro also uses the same road alignment and will also be underground)

3. How many people will one bus carry. say 30 odd ? or say max 50 ? A single train can carry hundreds. (look at our local trains). The volume of people in India will always justify a 'train' over a 'bus' simply because we have too many people. The masses (population) that needs to commute is vast and buses will always fall short.

Metro currently is a very viable solution providing fast, comfortable, affordable point to point transport to the masses. These has been witnessed with immense success of the Delhi Metro and on the Mumbai metro as well.

Going the cheaper route (Buses in this case) may not be the best bet always.


I have done exactly what you have written in your last sentence. "Chuck the car". I have exactly done that thing. You can visit my thread "No car week Initiative" and I have experienced the public transport first hand and have been doing so since almost an year now. In the current state as well the public transport in Mumbai functions above par and way beyond what it was expected to do.

These Metro projects are definetly not "Unrequired" projects as you have termed. these projects have long been in the planning stages and it is high time they are implemented on war footing.

Please refer to the below 2 links, they are real proof that the Metro has changed the game in the way people commute within Indian cities ::

for Delhi ::

http://www.hindustantimes.com/delhi/...7wbVZk09L.html

http://www.delhimetrorail.com/otherd...hipDetails.pdf


For Mumbai ::

According to MMOPL data, the density on the 11.4-km Metro, with about 2.5 lakh passengers a day, is more than that on the Hong Kong MTR Metro and the Manila Metro Rail Transit System. The Versova-Andheri-Ghatkopar has an average daily ridership of 26,316 per kilometre as against 25,744 on the Manila Metro and 25,092 on the Hong Kong Metro.

Source " http://indianexpress.com/article/cities/mumbai/mumbai-metro-a-year-on-its-worlds-eighth-most-dense-corridor-says-mmopl/"

http://www.reliancemumbaimetro.com/performance.html



I apologise for the long post, but then we need to understand things from a deeper, long term perspective.

Mods, you can delete this post if found inappropriate.

Regards
Dieseltuned

[PPS]

Originally Posted by ghodlur

Why doesn't the government free the BEST from the political shackles and order about 100+ odd buses (AC and non AC).

Ordering 100 odd buses isn't really the solution! We need alternate modes of transport like the Metro,Monorail & the Waterways! Read report somewhere that there will be dedicated bus lanes on certain stretches of WEH & Link road, that perhaps may help if travelling by bus, but it will worsen traffic for other vehicles due to 1 less lane.
Traffic on the roads is only going to get worse in the coming years due to barricades put up for Metro work. It will take 2 decades i guess for all the Metro projects to be completed!

Given an option I am willing to chuck the car for my daily commute and opt for a relaxed ride in an AC bus.

But you will still be stuck in traffic & your journey will take more time but yes you will save money.

[vivek95]

Originally Posted by Dieseltuned

I disagree here. How is the metro not helping the "Connectivity" ?
The Versova - Ghatkopar corridor is a prime example of what was missing in the city. (the east -west connectivity). Take a ride even in non peak hours and you would realise the importance it has got.


Regards
Dieseltuned

I fully agree with you. I have been using the Mumbai metro between Andheri and Ghatkopar twice daily from the past 20 days and can vouch for its high ridership and great success even during non peak hours. It has been a great experience for me with Mumbai metro as much as the Mumbai local. I am very sure that once the entire 160 km metro network in Mumbai metropolis is completed ( hopefully with just a little delay ) , it will garner a huge success at par with Delhi metro but when combined with the evergreen Mumbai local rail, Mumbai will have the best public transportation infrastructure in the entire country which no other city can even come close on the heels, in atleast about 5 years. Mark my words. The only grouse I have is Reliance undertaking this project. Their workmanship is not completely top notch as the Delhi or Bangalore metro as far as my observations go. Mumbai metro does serve its intended purpose adequately in a right way but the overall quality of work is not heavily impressive. I wish some great company like Punj Lloyd takes over the project and it's maintenance. Its also good to see lots of Volvo low floor buses plying around in Navi Mumbai and Thane region. Hope their fleet and frequency increases. I also wish that the Airport connectivity by AC buses should soon be taken up on priority basis.

[Akshay1234]

Unfortunately the WEH is a road I have to travel on pretty often, that too at the evening peak times, when on many days its jammed till Kalanagar. What really gets me annoyed, is that at least till Andheri when I exit the highway there is no actual cause for traffic besides bottlnecks. Let me list out a few while driving North, others may observe and see if I am right at all -

-First is when going over the Bandra East flyover, right before climbing the new Kherwadi flyover. Traffic from under the Bandra east flyover all want to move to the right most lane on the Kherwadi flyover which causes all the vehicles which were on top of the Bandra East flyover to move to the rightmost or sometimes the rightmost 2 lanes due to the vehicles from underneath cutting right before the Kherwadi flyover. This causes a backup on the Bandra East flyover. Vehicles which are under the Bandra east flyover (mostly vehicles from BKC, Sion and Dharavi) should be forced to continue under the Kherwadi flyover (the same way how on the South bound side vehicles which go under the Kherwadi flyover cannot enter the Bandra East flyover).

-Next is right before the Kalina flyover (which again is usually jammed, but slowly moving - Will get to the cause of this next) which has 3 lanes, but there are 5 and sometimes 6 lanes of vehicles which want to get on to it. These vehicles again cut to the right, just before flyover which causes the vehicles which were actually in the correct lanes to get stuck. This causes a back up sometimes almost till where the Kherwadi flyover lands. Over here the division of lanes for vehicles using the flyover needs to be done much before, and barricades should be put up for dividing the lanes of vehicles using the flyover and going underneath.

-After that is the cause of the Jam of the Kalina flyover, actually there are 2 causes, but this is the first. Where the Kalina flyover lands, the traffic coming from underneath merges into 2 lanes of the traffic from on top therefore making vehicles coming down from the flyover slow down and adding a huge backlog since most vehicles are forced to move one lane to the right. This is because the vehicles from underneath do not have enough space to merge with the vehicles on top. The road is divided into the service road on the left right there and then there are parked cars sometimes which block the left most lane. This causes the joining vehicles to sharply move to right lanes. This happens are the domestic airport flyover too which I am getting too.

-Next is the curvy stretch between where the Kalina flyover lands and until the domestic airport flyover. This too is usually jammed, while the road here is relatively ok, the airport flyover is again only 3 lanes wide and the 2 left lanes just before it starts have lots of potholes. This again causes traffic to really slow down and some to move to the right. Also there are cars making more lanes and cutting into the correct ones just before the flyover (but much less than before the other flyovers).

-Domestic airport flyover is also usually slow moving traffic, again only because of where it lands, the traffic from underneath cuts into 2 of the 3 lanes which land of the flyover. Now the traffic from underneath is forced to cut to the right, because just where it merges which the traffic coming from above the flyover that has been reduced to only 1 lane, ,with cars normally parked on the left ahead forcing these vehicles to cut right. This is turn slows down traffic on the flyover causing a back log. This was also made worse when the underpass to the international airport was made, since a foot over bridge was moved south from its original position. That foot overbridge, at the point where it lands on the North bound side is what causes the road to become a single lane at the point where traffic under the flyover joins the flyover (which used to be 2 lanes before this overpass was moved).

That's just my analysis till Andheri, and its ridiculous how such silly things keep adding up to the traffic. I find it extremely frustrating that not a single person managing these arterial roads has a single grey cell up there.

Sorry for the long rant, but sitting in that traffic keeps making me think why there is traffic.

[silverado]

Tilak Bridge - Dadar is choc a bloc for longer durations these days.
I guess the only time one should venture out is early mornings!

Did anyone notice massive pothole - entire patch at the end of Vashi flyover?
I was on this flyover for a good 10-15 minutes just due to this patch.

Many potholes on Belapur- Vashi highway are massive.
Its better to stick to Palm beach for the time being.

[vivek95]

Originally Posted by silverado

Tilak Bridge - Dadar is choc a bloc for longer durations these days.
I guess the only time one should venture out is early mornings!

Did anyone notice massive pothole - entire patch at the end of Vashi flyover?
I was on this flyover for a good 10-15 minutes just due to this patch.

Many potholes on Belapur- Vashi highway are massive.
Its better to stick to Palm beach for the time being.

Very true. Even the Turbhe junction flyover down ramp and Uran phata flyover, both are ladden with massive craters and have been the cause of major bottlenecks. The potholes on Turbhe junction flyover have been causing traffic backlogs as far as upto the Vashi toll. It's best to take the Palm beach road and then the Belapur--Uran road to exit via Panvel directly onto the Expressway or old NH4.

[PPS]

Originally Posted by Akshay1234

Traffic from under the Bandra east flyover all want to move to the right most lane on the Kherwadi flyover

Sometimes in the morning, cops force the vehicles to go under the Kherwadi flyover because of a VIP vehicle passing by!
Things get really worse on WEH till Malad thanks to the barricades put up for Metro work.
I used to do the Malad-SoBo & back route everyday till 2yrs back, now i just take the train!
I don't see the situation improving on WEH in the distant future.

[pixantz]

Originally Posted by Akshay1234

Unfortunately the WEH is a road I have to travel on pretty often, that too at the evening peak times, when on many days its jammed till Kalanagar. What really gets me annoyed, is that at least till Andheri when I exit the highway there is no actual cause for traffic besides bottlnecks.

That's just my analysis till Andheri, and its ridiculous how such silly things keep adding up to the traffic. I find it extremely frustrating that not a single person managing these arterial roads has a single grey cell up there.

Sorry for the long rant, but sitting in that traffic keeps making me think why there is traffic.

Your frustration is obvious from the extensively detailed observation that you shared. They are quite true too. Luckily I don't have to frequent this hell-hole nowadays. I had too until some years ago and it was beginning to get quite road-rage inducing. Even on a bike.

As for your observation about traffic huddling to join in at the start of flyovers, I notice that there is a long barricade at the start of the Goregaon Aarey flyover going north to curb and limit this menace and also cops at the point to guide drivers during peak hours. This helps a bit. This arrangement is present on the other side for traffic going south towards town too also with cops in the morning. Why, there's also cops standing on the Oberai-mall flyoverr which is before the Aarey one who free up a line on the northth-bound side for the south bound traffic which then join the others at Aarey flyover beginning. That's quite an arrangement. Now the confusing thing is why isn't this thing done for the other flyovers? At least during peak time?

There are bunch of cops standing to the far left at the beginning of north bound flyovers from Khar right upto Andheri. Apart from ripping off bikers I wonder what they are there for. Never saw them doing anything worthwile. .Any ideas anyone?

[saurabh89]

Reading these experiences on WEH reminds me of the troubled times I had for 3 months at the start of this year. I used to stay in Powai and my office was in Malad west. I used to spend 4 hours daily driving through the JVLR and later WEH. I have always felt the left turn onto JVLR from WEH was jammed due to negligence of cops and intolerable driving by BEST drivers.


About the Aarey flyover, it's a pain whilst traveling towards Malad every morning due to barricades. A better solution can be to direct part of the traffic from below the flyover to avoid congestion.

[ghodlur]

Originally Posted by Dieseltuned

I disagree here. How is the metro not helping the "Connectivity" ?
The Versova - Ghatkopar corridor is a prime example of what was missing in the city. (the east -west connectivity). Take a ride even in non peak hours and you would realise the importance it has got.

I could have argued more on this but will refrain myself. The east west connectivity was there before the metro too. I do agree Metro has eased the commuting life to a certain extent but if you do remember the time it took the metro to be built, the amount of expenditure which was made, the traffic chaos which it came with. My building colleague commutes to BKC every day from Thane. The best and the quickest route for him is the trains and bus from Kurla. To this day the railways and the buses are termed the lifeline of Mumbai and not the Metro. Improve the existing infrastructure, wish list will always be there. Just to clarify, till date I have not take the metro coz never felt the need for it. There were always alternatives available for a faster commute.

My only concern here is We have just come out of the Metro projects and traffic chaos it creates, why do we need another one? We will keep this discussion fro some other day.

[Dieseltuned]

Originally Posted by ghodlur

but if you do remember the time it took the metro to be built, the amount of expenditure which was made, the traffic chaos which it came with.

All short term losses for long term gains. As I said think long term. Think of your future generations. the current generaton always suffers for the betterment of their future one's. A small compromise today in my commute if it is going to benefit millions in the future, then why not ?

Gyan zyada hogaya na. Sorry for that.

[dZired]

Mumbai: Heavy vehicles banned on city roads during peak hours

Mumbai Traffic Police has banned the movement of heavy vehicles on city roads during peak hours, i.e. 7 am to 11 am and 5 pm to 10 pm. This step has been taken to tackle rising traffic problem in the city.

In order to avoid inconvenience due to this order, vehicles carrying essential commodities and providing essential services have been exempted from the order. These include vehicles carrying vegetables and milk, ambulance, police department, fire department, government, semi-government vehicles and all buses transporting passengers.

The official order released by the Traffic Police Department mentions heavy vehicles to be a major cause of the traffic snarls being faced by Mumbaikars every day. Other causes of traffic jams mentioned in the order include ongoing repairs / other works on the road, ongoing metro / monorail projects and electricity / telephone line works in the city.

Source: Business Standard

[varunsangal]

Originally Posted by dZired

Mumbai: Heavy vehicles banned on city roads during peak hours

This will be a huge relief to commuters. Especially the WEH will benefit hugely given most of the road is blocked due to metro construction these days.

Autorickshaws should also be prohibited from plying on the WEH and EEH as they simply slow down the traffic. They should be restricted to Linking road/SV Road and LBS.