Despite history of glitches, commuters use Monorail for cheaper rates and speed

Ten months after India's first Monorail between Chembur and Wadala restarted on Saturday, regulars along with first time commuters travelled using the Monorail citing it being the cheapest and the fastest mode of transport on the route it operates. This happens despite a history of technical glitches and a fire incident in November 2017 after which its services were suspended.

According to Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) by evening around 5.30 pm more than 8,000 people had already travelled via Monorail, and the numbers are expected to touch around 10,000 commuters till 10pm. Also upto November 2017 till it was operational, daily around 15,000 commuters used to travel daily on an average using Monorail.

Sadik Shaikh who travels daily to Vashi Naka near Chembur from Wadala used to travel using Monorail ever since it was made operational in February 2014. "I was travelling daily since 2014 till 2017 for my workplace but since last ten months it was shut I had to travel using bus for which I had to spend more money, and it used to take more time along with being crowded," Shaikh said.

The fares for Monorail are Rs 5-11 between Wadala Depot and Chembur, and the same will be revised to be Rs 10 to 40 only once the second phase between Wadala Depot and Mahalaxmi is made operational in 2019.

Another commuter Milind Mahulkar who daily travels between Wadala Depot and Chembur said, "I spend Rs 22 on return journey which is air-conditioned ride and comfortable and cheaper than bus. Also accidents and incidents don't bother me, because certain things are not unavoidable, and it's all about fate."

Another commuter BS Rao who resides in HPCL Colony travelled daily said, "There was a plane crash the other day, and did we stop using flight or flying via plane because there was a crash? The answer is no. Monorail is surely cheaper, faster and comfortable mode of transport but obviously safety is one concern everyone should be serious about."

While many were daily commuters returning back to using Monorail for their daily travel, on Saturday many first time commuters also travelled using Monorail. Thomas Sushil who hails from Chennai, said, "I shifted to Mumbai around two months ago, and today was the first time I travelled using Monorail between Bharat Petroleum and Chembur for personal work. I found it much faster and cheaper than my cab ride considering it also took more time when compared with my Monorail ride."

BACK IN ACTION

Emergency contact for Monorail commuters: 02224065415 or 08452905434

Commuters travelling on Saturday: More than 8,000

Operational route: Chembur to Wadala

Route to open in 2019: Wadala to Mahalaxmi

Current fare: Rs 5-11

Fare after full route is operational in 2019: Rs 10-40

Frequency: 15 minutes

Operational hours: 6 am to 10 pm

How much MMRDA spends for every trip: Rs 10,600

Functional trains: 04

Total available trains: 10