NMMT starts AC buses to Bandra

Although rains played a spoilsport, the inauguration ceremony of the first batch of five Volvo buses at Navi Mumbai Municipal Transport's (NMMT) Turbhe depot on Tuesday proved to be a hit. The ceremony was not only attended by State Excise and Environment Minister Ganesh Naik but even MLC Manda Mhatre braved the rains and potholed roads to attend the function along with State Transport Commissioner Deepak Kapoor and many other dignitaries.
NMMT's foray into Mumbai marks a new chapter in the history of the Corporation, said Naik while appreciating the efforts of all the officials who made this happen in spite of stiff opposition from certain sectors. Like AC buses, Naik urged officials from Volvo to supply non-AC buses too to cater to the poor.
The newly-inaugurated air-conditioned buses will operate between CBD-Belapur and Bandra covering a total distance of 33.5 kms within 85-90 minutes. The frequency of the buses will be 18 minutes and the fare is Rs 45.
Stressing on the need to maintain strict safety and cleanliness levels for these buses, Kapoor requested NMMT officials to form a separate cell to look after the maintenance and safety of Volvo buses in order to cater to the extremely sophisticated market in Mumbai. "Keeping the future growth of Navi Mumbai, the proposed airport and other projects in mind, NMMT must start operating these buses from Navi Mumbai to Santacruz to connect the two airports and tap this profitable market before others do. Such a service will also help boost weekend tourism in the city," he said.
Kapoor also urged officials to reduce 'turn around time' for better efficiency and reliability. "Passengers will suffer in case of monopoly. Do not give your competitors such a chance and offer best service," he added.
Akash Passey, MD of Volvo Buses India Pvt Ltd said, "The fare is only 25 to 30 per cent higher than ordinary buses. The emissions are much lower. Taking all the advantages in to consideration, I will say the buses are apt for travel within city and will help bring down congestion as commuters will not mind leaving their cars and bikes behind to travel by this bus." He added, "Earlier, the focus was only on Metro Rail but the authorities now realise that such comfortable, efficient transport system which can run parallel to rail and Metro will help bring down congestion in city." NMMT's Transport Manager Jitendra Papalkar said the NMMT has received the permission to operate another 300 buses on Build Own Operate (BOO) basis.
Passey assured that the remaining 15 Volvo buses too will be delivered by end of July. Formed in 1996, NMMT presently boasts of a fleet of 269 buses and has two depots in Turbhe and Asudgaon. NMMT operates these buses on 39 routes within the city. Work on setting up a CNG pump is presently on at the depot and NMMT hopes to convert all its buses into CNG soon. Later, Naik along with other corporators and staff inaugurated the buses and went on a ride from the depot to NMSA in Vashi.