As the Maharashtra state elections get underway, the daily struggles of Mumbai’s citizens, especially their commuting woes, seem to be overlooked in the electoral discourse. Political parties are focusing on massive infrastructure projects, sidelining the city’s lifelines like the Railways and the Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) Undertaking in favour of the Metro Rail. Despite being partially operational, the Metro has yet to make a significant impact.

Surveys reveal that 52% of Mumbaikars walk to work, yet on many roads, pedestrian infrastructure remains neglected, encroached upon, and unusable.

While traffic congestion has made commuting a nightmare, trains are perennially overcrowded. However, instead of strengthening and augmenting the existing network, there continues to be a major emphasis on scaling up the Metro Rail network.

Current state of public transport in Mumbai

Currently, the BEST handles a daily footfall of over 35 lakh passengers, while the local railways network serves over 75 lakh people daily with 2,342 services. However, a significant shortfall in the BEST fleet causes immense commuting stress for Mumbai. 

Regular commuters like Balram Vishwakarma, have been posting on social media about problems with last-minute connectivity due to the fleet reduction. Regular users have been complaining about a deliberate attempt to kill the BEST services by slashing its fleet by 9% from 3,195 to 2,915 buses. Arterial lines of Marol, Andheri, and Versova are the worst affected as the private bus contract service provider to BEST, M/s Hansa City Bus Pvt Ltd, has been discontinued, leading to major inconvenience for bus users on this stretch. The city offers no affordable travel alternatives, leaving commuters in the lurch.

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The railways fall under the jurisdiction of the Central government, while the State government manages BEST buses since the Bruhanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has been suspended with no elections scheduled. The Mumbai Metropolitan Regional Development Authority (MMRDA), which operates under the State government, oversees the Metro project.

Given that the same political parties are in power both in Maharashtra and the Centre, local legislators are aligned with the broader power structure. This puts them in a position to advocate for projects and address citizens’ concerns. In the absence of elected local corporators in Mumbai, these state legislators have become the most visible public representatives. It is not uncommon for them to raise local issues in the state legislature, as they are the key political figures engaging with municipal concerns. 

Legislators’ efforts

Many legislators have raised issues pertaining to the city, such as problems with flyovers, skywalks, bridges and the need for underground parking. Some of these include Ameet Satam from Juhu, who pushed for the dismantling of the Gokhale bridge after a partial collapse and Ashish Shelar from Bandra, who demanded an underground parking facility to clear street congestion near Patwardhan Park. In fact, things have been so localised that chief minister Eknath Shinde personally visited and oversaw the desilting of the storm water drains in Mumbai. 

Political figures like Varsha Gaikwad, who earlier headed the Mumbai unit of the Congress party, have expressed concerns over the lack of pedestrian access and safety on bridges. She has criticised the State government’s decision to close down bridges in Mumbai without providing alternative routes, a move that causes traffic jams. 

Many politicians including Aaditya Thackeray have been pushing for replenishing the fleet of BEST buses, which he described as the lifeline of Mumbai. 

Infrastructure upgrade vs commuting upgrade

However, despite these efforts, public transport and pedestrian infrastructure face significant challenges. The past decade has seen massive infrastructure construction in the city with the promise that  “Mumbai is upgrading.” However, these upgrades have not lived up to the expectations of average citizens because of poor planning. 

As the state leads up to polls, a blitzkrieg has been launched highlighting various infrastructural projects particularly those involving public transportation and the commuter experiences. 

While the city’s physical infrastructure has expanded, it hasn’t addressed the root cause of congestion — the rising number of cars. Most urban planning in Mumbai remains car-centric, and as a result, every new road or flyover seems to quickly get clogged with more private vehicles. 

What people want for the city

“In light of the upcoming elections, political parties focus on macro-level infrastructure projects such as the Coastal Road and Metro Rail. However, basic public transport and roads in the city are crumbling. The city seems to be facing a perpetual traffic jam, the city’s residential bylanes and even the main roads are in bad shape. There appears to be more of a political tussle than candidates focusing on enhancing public transport and pedestrian infrastructure,” says Trivakumar Karnani, founder of the Mumbai North Central District Forum, a citizen initiative. 

Meanwhile, in the Maharashtra Urban Mobility Charter put forth by civil society organisations including Parisar, Waatavaran, and Young Leaders for Active Citizenship (YLAC), with support from the Sustainable Mobility Network (SMN), citizen groups have called for finalising the Maharashtra Urban Mobility Policy and for creating Unified Metropolitan Transport Authority (UMTA) in major cities. Other demands include creating low-emission zones, high-quality footpaths and safe pedestrian crossing zones, subsidies in intra-city bus travel for women and push for e-mobility measures.

Neglect of walking infrastructure

Meanwhile, walking infrastructure seems to be disappearing from the city. Many stretches don’t even have footpaths, like the new Lower Parel bridge, endangering lives. The newly constructed Gokhale Road bridge has a narrow walkway, which is almost unusable because of water accumulation.

Worse, many decisions are taken without prior information to citizens. For instance, the Sion-Dharavi Rail Over Bridge (ROB) remains closed, particularly inconveniencing visitors to Sion Hospital. 

Vidyadhar Date, a public transportation activist says: “The ruling alliance parties like the BJP are trying to portray that the Metro Rail is a panache to all commuting problems. A similar strategy was in place when the government launched the Bandra Worli Sea Link (BWSL) and there was an attempt to capitalise on it for the polls. It was presented as a major success, boosting the government’s image.” 

Commuters tend to be gullible and get swayed by the big-ticket solutions portrayed. “When I visited the newly launched Aqua Metro line, despite the obvious last-mile connectivity issues, most people remained calm believing that these would be resolved once the full services were operational,” says Date. 

He notes that the government lacks vision, while the public lacks the will to protest and demand improved services. “Though the Kala Killa BEST depot space has been given up for the Dharavi redevelopment project, there is no protest from people about a transportation facility being usurped,” notes Date. 

Have big ticket projects benefited the average commuter?

Citizen activist Zoru Bhathena, a staunch critic of the Metro project, observes that the government has been spending millions on new projects, while expanding the existing railway lines would be more effective.  

“The State is spending Rs 1,00,000 crore for major projects like Coastal Road, Atal Setu and Sea Links that would benefit just about one lakh people and another Rs 1,00,000 crore for the Metro projects, which benefits about three lakh people. But, the government barely spent Rs 800 crore to replenish the BEST fleet, which 33 lakh people use. Clearly, the priorities are lopsided. Laying a few additional railway lines would have helped lakhs of commuters travel faster, rather than spending huge amounts on setting up new infrastructure,” he says. 

Politicians’ cash in on infrastructure projects 

Essentially, the intent of the policymakers and the government itself is in question. When elections are contested, the idea is to bedazzle hapless voters and convince them they are being provided the best in the world.

The Metro project has been highlighted by the Chief Ministers of every party that has held power in the state, whether it’s Eknath Shinde now or Uddhav Thackeray in the past.

Trial runs, the arrival of the Metro coaches, the launch of services, and even the inauguration of three stations on the underground Aqua Line have been celebrated with regular announcements and updates on the social media feeds of prominent politicians.

Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has been highlighting how the Mumbai Metro Rail will drive the city’s progress. He also tweeted about halting toll collection at Mumbai’s entry points just before the election code of conduct took effect, calling it a relief for Mumbaikars from heavy traffic congestion.

Mumbai’s Guardian Minister Mangal Prabhat Lodha posted on his X account about the inauguration of the Vande Bharat trains between Mumbai and Goa, and the Atal Setu. The Metro was also being pushed as a solution to reduce Mumbai’s traffic and pollution for which former CM Devendra Fadnavis had worked day and night. These social media posts were used to highlight the leaders’ efforts and present the projects as key talking points for the upcoming elections. 

Will the people of Mumbai buy into these promises and vote accordingly? We have to wait and see.  

Also read:

• As Mumbai prepares to vote, a look at government promises vs performance
• Chennai Metro Rail work: Must commuters risk life and limb for ‘a better tomorrow’?