Mumbai: The Independence Day long weekend starting Wednesday evening has led to heavy bookings of private buses. With more than 80% of seats already booked, private bus operators will decide whether additional services are needed by Tuesday. Most of the routes are towards Konkan, Goa, Mahabaleshwar, Solapur, and Latur, among other places.
Even the Indian Railways is witnessing good demand for the weekend. According to the Mumbai Bus Malak Sanghatana, a private bus operators’ union, demand has already reached 70-75% on most routes from Mumbai. The entire fleet of 3,000 private buses is showing around 80% percent occupancy already starting from Wednesday.
“After a long time, the demand for buses has revived. Currently, there is no increase in the cost of tickets. We will take a call if there is a need for adding extra buses.
That’s when the prices are likely to rise,” said Malik Patel, a member of the union. Depending on the route, a ticket in an air conditioned (AC) bus costs between ₹ 1,500 and ₹ 2,000, while a seat in a non-AC bus is priced ₹ 800- ₹ 1,200. The prices skyrocket by 2-3X depending on the demand.
Out of the 3,000 private buses, 500-600 will head for the Konkan region. Bus operators said there is a possibility that people are going home early to prepare for the Ganpati festival in early September. At least 70-75% of the private buses are air-conditioned, with a majority being sleepers.
Shorter bus trips to Nashik and Pune are not in demand since p.