MSRTC Logo. (PC: Imbalance Colors)
My first article will be on the State Transport Unit of the region where I reside - Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC), an undertaking with a lot of hidden potential in it which has unfortunately not been brought out.
Bus
transport in Maharashtra has always been a contributing factor for making the
western micro-nation what it is today. Maharashtra has one provision which many
other states like Madhya Pradesh lack: A decent state transport unit which runs
16500 buses carrying 7 million passengers on 18700 routes daily. Government transport undertakings have got
more favour over private players in today’s time because of the safety and
connectivity factor and this is what makes the wheel-and-arrow logo stamped ’Lal-dabba’
(red tin box) fleet loved by every Maharashtrian around the globe. Being a
non-Maharashtrian, MSRTC has also earned my respect.
Even though
MSRTC has excellent rural connectivity, it still lags much behind in the
premium travel sector when compared to South Indian states like Karnataka or
the Telugu heartland. The main reason is the shoddy resource allocation which
is done by the body. The Mumbai-Pune route has excellent bus connectivity,
where you have an air-conditioned bus under the ‘Shivneri’ brand leaving every
thirty minutes from either city. However, people still have to use the red tin
boxes (or white, if the passenger needs more comfort) for other major routes.
The state which parents India’s biggest city also has the unfavourable tag of
having a superficially successful transport organisation. This has resulted in a lot of
inconvenience for commuters and office holders.
An MSRTC Shivneri of Parel Depot in Mumbai doing Mumbai-Pune rounds ready to move from Dadar bus-bay. Every bus has a frequency of 30 minutes. (PC: Kunal Jadhav)
Let us take
two scenarios in the Silicon Triangle. Karnataka State Road Transport
Corporation (KSRTC) is considered to be the best transport system of India and
continues to live by it. The organisation plies five air conditioned multi-axle
buses under the brand ‘Airavat’ everyday from Bengaluru to Pune at a fare of
around Rs. 1100 for one way. Telangana’s State Transport undertaking (TSRTC)
also runs three services everyday for Rs. 1200 of the same specifications under
the brand name ‘Garuda Plus’. However, Pune does not have any such premium
service as all the compatible buses are deployed on Mumbai-Pune rounds,
although one was proposed around Rs. 2000 for one way which was later scrapped.
There is an MSRTC semi-luxury bus which runs between Bengaluru and Pune but
this chassis built bus is only fit for intra state travel. What more, the fare
comes up to around Rs. 1500 for a 24 hour journey as compared to the Airavat’s
duration of fourteen hours and its fare. There is one bus per day which worsens
matters. The same scenario exists on the Hyderabad route also. Lack of
knowledge in all fields has led to the premium bus sector disintegrate in MSRTC
with exorbitant fares and pathetic management.
Current Shivneri routes and pricing (Credits: MSRTC Official Website)
The
organisation has procured multi-axle buses under the ‘Ashwamedh’ brand which
have been deployed on the same old route again! However, the organisation has
also come up with a plan of procuring buses by buying some and outsourcing some
from private operators. These will run under the name ‘Shiv Shahi’ whose fares
will be slated below the conventional ‘Shivneri’ and higher than the
semi-luxury tin boxes. For now these buses have been assigned for trial in the
Vidarbha and Marathwada regions. However, there is a possibility that these
vehicles will again get the same old route, which they will tread all their
lives till they rust and conk, just like the old King Longs and Ceritas.
MSRTC Shiv Shahi Buses (PC: Shri Devendra Fadnavis, MH CM;
Twitter: @Dev_Fadnavis)
Some good
focus on this segment has come especially with District Headquarters getting
connected to the two major cities on a daily basis and the commencement of interstate AC bus service between Bengaluru from Kolhapur and Mumbai to Hyderabad signify things are changing
for the good after the government has changed, although slowly. However as
trekkers have to prepare themselves to climb
the Shivneri fort’s chain route,
MSRTC has to gear itself for testing times which KSRTC and TSRTC have gone through and emerged victoriously especially
with the Shivneris they possess.
P.S.: With Mumbai, I also meant buses going towards Thane. Also, Please comment for any views and corrections. Thanks!
- Shoubhik Ghosh
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