[gomzi]

Originally Posted by GTO

Hey, it's a Parsi-maintained lift and still works (after a 100 years or so of install).

Whoa thats a looong time for any lift to be around!

Originally Posted by GTO

I can't for the life of me figure out why the "public" damages "public property" in protest. The next morning, it is they who use the same trains!

This stumps me too! But then it might just be a way to vent out frustration. Violence in Mumbai seems to always lurk under the surface, ready to pounce.

Originally Posted by GTO

An efficient A+ grade public transportation system could do wonders toward decreasing road congestion. Far more than a Bandra Worli sealink (which I welcome, but is more of a short-term quickfix solution).

Bandra worli sealink and quickfix in the same sentence?

its actually great to hear of good bus services from BEST and NMMT posted on this thread. Despite the percieved lack of planning etc, atlast we are heading in the right direction.

I just hope the quality of the new mumbai-metro and other projects is good. I was quite shocked to hear about the collapses/derailments on Delhi metro in the last few months.

[shankar.balan]

while I would love to say yes to this, considerations of practicality force me not to leap on board at first shot.
the abominable lack of a reasonable public transportation system on my office commute route is the main reason for this.
I am trying to do my bit by using one vehicle instead of two at any given time - for my wife and me to commute up and down - office and home and going out as well.

Originally Posted by Gansan

Agreed. That is what I mentioned in my post too. May be if all BHPians agree to have one "no driving day" in a week and follow it, we as a sizeable and growing community can save a lot of fuel and reduce pollution. It can be any day of the week, according to the member's choice.

[appuchan]

Originally Posted by gomzi

...

Mumbai might be one of the few places in the world where people develop a "train friends" group - who mainly meet only in the train to/from work.

....

I have seen similar camaraderie in local/express trains running in Kerala connecting cities such as Cochin, Kottayam, Kollam and Trivandrum. Many working ladies bring vegetables on board and do the chopping also in the train while traveling back to home in the evening

Talking of the usage of public transport, the success of Volvo Vayu Vajra bus service in Bangalore is a good example. I know of many of my colleagues who used to drive earlier now travel by these buses which are quite comfortable and convenient for fairly long trips like, Electronics city, Hebbal etc. It also simulates a "chauffered" feeling with good a/c, spacious seating and ability to work with your laptops. The pickup/drop points are also well conceived and charges are pretty reasonable and in most cases even cheaper than creaky company bus services.

[extreme_torque]

Everytime I hear the word Metro, my heart swells with pride. The Delhi Metro is the best thing to have happened to the city ever since its existence. Clean, cheap, air conditioned, fast its an absolute joy to travel in. I just wish people were considerate towards the other beings.

It has brought about such a huge social change which is unimaginable in a place like Delhi. In the same cab standing shoulder to shoulders is a daily wage layman and a corporate honcho. I treat the metro like my own, even picked up pieces of paper lying around yesterday while travelling and threw them in the bin. Taking my car or bike to place where there is still no connectivity is such a pain.

Waiting for the day when the Noida line starts... that would the day when commuting to office would no longer be a pain and I would not have to talk to rogue drivers and the transport people from my office.

[Gansan]

Originally Posted by Gilead

Work has started on the Chennai metro rail project.

There will be an underground station about 5 mins walking distance from my house. And the best part is there would be a station which is 5 mins walking distance from my office! So it would be great if I am in the same work location 3-4 years from now. I am really looking forward to some stress free travel by train.

OT :Very optimistic of the date of completion, aren't we? But if the Chennai metro fructifies fully within the next 8 years, combined with the existing suburban rail and the MRTS extension up to St.Thomas Mount, almost all the areas in Chennai will be interlinked by trains and I will not change my car & bike thereafter. There will simply be no need for that anymore!

[ampere]

Originally Posted by Tempelhof

I don't know about the inside, but outside of the Volvo bus (if you are in a car / bike), the travel is really amazing

You must see it to believe it - how my friends who drive 335E (and other such Red Monsters) switch from one lane to another - how they terrorize fellow road-users - how they squeeze themselves into a 1-inch gap and then squeeze you out of the road !!

The Golden Rule I follow in Bangalore: Never allow a Volvo to overtake you - better still, if there's Volvo behind you reduce your speed to 10 kmph.

You know what; I also had a laugh from inside. Just when we stepped outside Bangalore (at around 12 in the night), the Volvo driver got into a race with an Accent. The Accent guy did over take him twice/thrice. The Volvo guy then got real enraged (I think), and the way he went past the Accent, the car never chose to compete again.

I thought the Volvo was cruising at 60-70. I had to talk to conductor for some reason and then I realized that the Volvo was running past 100 and you could never feel it !

Jokes apart its both good and serious. The Volvo drivers need to realize they a have beast on the hooks and hence they need to be careful.

[Tempelhof]

Originally Posted by Gilead

Work has started on the Chennai metro rail project.

Take a look at this slide show - what's the guarantee that Metro in Madras (when it comes) will not reach this stage quickly?
The Hindu : News : Riding rough: Chennai's suburban trains

[gomzi]

Originally Posted by appuchan

I have seen similar camaraderie in local/express trains running in Kerala connecting cities such as Cochin, Kottayam, Kollam and Trivandrum.

hey, great to hear of that appuchan.

Originally Posted by Gilead

Work has started on the Chennai metro rail project.

There will be an underground station about 5 mins walking distance from my house. And the best part is there would be a station which is 5 mins walking distance from my office! So it would be great if I am in the same work location 3-4 years from now. I am really looking forward to some stress free travel by train.

Hmm, more news of upgradation in public transport. This is good news. I'd known of the bangalore metro coming up, but not of chennai.

3-4 years is a shorttime if you count it in IST (Indian Stretchable Time).

[aqualeo2040]

The talk of local trains takes me back to those good old school days.

I was born and brought up in the suburbs of Calcutta and had to commute 45 kms to school by the local train for 5 years.

Oh! those were the days. We would take the same train to and fro every day and the same compartment too! Sometimes, we had to play 'running-catching'(now it sounds pretty dangerous). We almost knew everyone in the compartment. There would be a bunch of office goers. We knew who had which newspaper and borrowed it as soon as they embark (We used to reserve seats for them).

[normally_crazy]

Originally Posted by GTO

Far more than a Bandra Worli sealink (which I welcome, but is more of a short-term quickfix solution).

Quick Fix ?? A Quick Fix solution that took 10 years in the making ?

[GTO]

Originally Posted by Technocrat

GTO have you tried the A1(or something like that) AC BEST bus? I once traveled from Ghatkopar to South Mumbai & it was a pleasant ride, The downside is the frequency.

I've heard good things about the service. But I leave for work early morning, before rush hour traffic starts, and thus prefer driving to work (<30 minutes early morning). The only one downside of the air-con bus (vis a vis train) is the time taken to travel.

[Technocrat]

Yep thats true as even on a weekend it took its own sweet time to cover that distance. Give it a shot over one of these weekends

[Mpower]

Originally Posted by GTO

Why can't we have A+ grade public transportation? Say an air-con train compartment with seating space? Charge a worthy premium and most car owners will convert for the daily office-work rounds. I for one wouldn't mind using my laptop and getting some work done, while reaching office at a lower cost (in time and $$$). And keeping that Audi A4 3.2 FSI for the weekends

There you go. That's the lifestyle of a NewYorker !!!

BTW, was in NYC last month. Although the trains are decent and v punctual the stations are maintained like crap.

[F50]

Originally Posted by Mpower

There you go. That's the lifestyle of a NewYorker !!!

BTW, was in NYC last month. Although the trains are decent and v punctual the stations are maintained like crap.

I was in NY last month too. And im in love with that city! May be because it resembles Mumbai whereas here in CT, life is very slow.
But roaming in NY was great, taking all those subways and transfers etc

Coming back to Mumbai and local trains, I have traveled over 7yrs (first class) in Western and Central Railway. 7.30am Churchgate bound train and 9.03 am VT bound local. All those groups were quite entertaining. At that time, I was the only 21yr old among other guys who were over 50yrs old. lol
But it was fun. I miss those days.

[BunnyPunia]

Originally Posted by ampere

You know what; I also had a laugh from inside. Just when we stepped outside Bangalore (at around 12 in the night), the Volvo driver got into a race with an Accent. The Accent guy did over take him twice/thrice. The Volvo guy then got real enraged (I think), and the way he went past the Accent, the car never chose to compete again.

I thought the Volvo was cruising at 60-70. I had to talk to conductor for some reason and then I realized that the Volvo was running past 100 and you could never feel it !

Jokes apart its both good and serious. The Volvo drivers need to realize they a have beast on the hooks and hence they need to be careful.

While driving to Davangere from Pune on numerous occasions, i have been a victim too between the bad Haveri - Davanagere stretch. Coz i have been in hatch (hatch backs), i had to slow down for bad patches but these guys simply fly over these at high speeds. Open roads had me going fast, but bad patches had these guys catch up easily