[shoubhikganguly]

The public transport in Mumbai is pretty good...until it starts raining and you really need a vehicle. A couple of years back my father slipped in the bathroom and hurt his head. He was bleeding heavily from a cut. I was between cars at that time - had just moved back to Mumbai from Amsterdam. I tried booking an Uber (23 minutes waiting), Ola (19 minutes waiting). Then ran to the main road and tried getting a rickshaw. Ofcourse, none of them wanted to go to a hospital 2 kms away. Every single one was waiting for a long distance fare. All the while trying to also call an ambulance. It was pouring and my father was standing there bleeding, getting wet in the rain. I tried begging, cajoling, threatening the rickshaws, to no avail. Finally an old guy driving a rickshaw offered to take us. I bought a car as soon as I could. Yes, one can survive daily life without a car in Mumbai, but when you really need transport - you better have your own.

[Axe77]

What a wonderful post. Thanks for sharing how the various modes of transport can actually play out. Mumbai does need creativity to get around but fortunately it also has many options and importantly they are for most part (and relatively speaking) safe including at late hours. I think that is another aspect that makes public transport attractive in this city.

[v12]

I remember a few years ago BEST had come up with a scheme where you purchase a full-day ticket for Rs 25 and you could travel multiple times in multiple buses in Mumbai. This was not applicable for the LTD & A/C buses. But it was a wonderful scheme - just purchase 1 ticket and if you are using multiple buses to get to your location, it was a huge cost save.

[anivy]

Auto, taxi fares hiked in Mumbai by ₹3.00. Minimum fares will now be ₹21.00 for auto-rickshaws and ₹25.00 for kalli-peeli taxis.

Expect long queues of autos & taxis at RTOs for the recalibration process.

Source.

[BrokenHW]

Mumbai auto/taxi basic fare hike gets approval. Minimum taxi fare Rs 28 and Rs 23 for autos from October 1

[mayuresh]

I plan to visit Mumbai by train. My train reaches LTT around 11am on Sat (mentioning this to help judge the traffic speed). Looking for quick ways to reach IITB. What is advisable:

- Local train to Kanjurmarg and then auto to IIT?
- Directly an auto from LTT to IIT. Any estimate of time and fare for this?

Which one is quicker?

Also, from LTT which station to go to, to catch a train to Kanjurmarg - Walk to Tilak Nagar and then change train at Kurla ? Or take auto from LTT to Vidya Vihar and catch Kanjurmarg local?

[anivy]

Originally Posted by mayuresh

- Directly an auto from LTT to IIT. Any estimate of time and fare for this?

This is by far the best option. Google Maps indicates a distance of 13-15 kms and fare for a rickshaw should be around Rs. 250/-

You will anyway need to take a cab/rickshaw from LTT to a nearby station and then again from Vikhroli/Bhandup station to IIT. Save all that time/energy and get a rickshaw to take you directly from LTT to IIT.

[am1m]

Very pleasantly surprised to see the UTS app (Indian Railways) can be used to book Mumbai Local tickets too! The GPS option didn't work, but was able to scan one of the QR codes pasted around the station and book my ticket online. No more lines at the station! 10-bucks for 20+km, especially when the same trip by road would have taken hours, go Mumbai! Great to see more ac locals and good to see some new ac buses and mini-buses from BEST. Though most seem around the town area, not elsewhere.

Traffic seems to have gotten worse in Mumbai. Is it my imagination, or does Mumbai have a significantly higher percentage of diesel vehicles (including private vehicles) than Bangalore? (Percentage I mean, of course Mumbai will have more vehicles overall.) Why the heck aren't the autos on LPG yet?! Bangalore has made that shift and I think that has made a huge difference to the overall pollution levels. Which really seems to have gotten worse over the past few years here, an observation from someone who visits Mumbai every year. Last year, I got solid throat irritation in just a week in December, working from BKC. Today, I read confirmation of that fact in the paper, apparently last year was the worst in terms of pollution for Mumbai and BKC is the most polluted area because of all the construction. I thought the pollution levels would be better now because of the rainy season, but still seems pretty bad here. Thankfully I don't have to commute to BKC this time, but still looks pretty bad overall.

[Fx14]

Originally Posted by am1m

good to see some new ac buses and mini-buses from BEST. Though most seem around the town area, not elsewhere.

The AC mini-buses from BEST are available all over the suburbs too, though on shorter feeder routes. The longer routes have the full size buses to cater to more passengers.

Why the heck aren't the autos on LPG yet?!

They are all on CNG.
So too are majority of the taxis and of the BEST buses.

[am1m]

Originally Posted by Fx14

They are all on CNG.
So too are majority of the taxis and of the BEST buses.

Oh ok, didn't look like that, but I could be wrong. In Bangalore, the LPG autos are in a different colour scheme, so it's easy to identify the new ones.

Buses, I'm sure I'm seeing a lot of old diesel ones, with the black fumes. Will keep an eye out for the newer ones.