MUMBAI: The Maharashtra government on Wednesday announced the setting up of a task force to explore the feasibility of staggering the office timings of private establishments in Mumbai and the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) to reduce the rush in local trains during peak hours.
The step has come in the wake of five commuters falling to their death from overcrowded trains between Mumbra and Diva stations on June 9.
State transport minister Pratap Sarnaik announced the task force, which will comprise railway and state government officials and representatives from private establishments, in the state assembly. A discussion was initiated on the rampant accidents on local train routes, with legislators demanding steps to overcome the problem of overcrowded local trains.
In his response, the minister admitted that all the efforts made to reduce overcrowding had proved futile so far. “The state government focussed on the metro, hoping it would reduce overcrowding in local trains but it is yet to yield results,” the minister said, adding that the constantly rising population of MMR was a factor in the number of commuters not dwindling. He also revealed that as many as 7,565 commuters died and 7,293 other were injured while travelling in local trains in the last three years.
Laying out the efforts taken by the state government in this regard, Sarnaik said, “Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis has already held a positive discussion with union railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on installing automatic door-closing mechanisms to prevent passengers from falling off overcrowded trains. These changes will be carried out but the fares will remain unchanged. Once this is done, accidents will stop completely.”
Accepting the legislators’ demand for staggered office timings, the minister said, “We have already relaxed office timings for the government by an hour and will form a task force to ascertain if the timings of private establishments can also be changed. We are also working on several other options such as water transport, bike taxis, pod taxis and ropeways in MMR. For pod taxis, land has been given to MMRDA in Bandra-Kurla Complex. We are also looking at having them to connect Mira-Bhayander, Thane and Navi Mumbai.”
When questioned about pod taxis, the minister replied that bringing them in was a feasible option. “The initiative is likely to start in Baroda with the help of union road transport minister Nitin Gadkari in the next one or two months,” he said. “I have personally visited the project site.”
Pod taxis, also known as Personal Rapid Transit, is an automated electric transportation system. These driverless vehicles are designed for small groups or individual passengers and are typically elevated above the ground, running on a network of tracks. They are gaining popularity as a solution for last-mile connectivity and decongestion in urban areas.