Hubballi: The commercial city of Hubballi is often called ‘Chota Mumbai’. It has had close business connections with Mumbai for centuries. As many as 70 private buses and six trains carry thousands of passengers between Hubballi and Mumbai daily.
The irony is that neither NWKRTC nor KKRTC are running a single reserved bus between the cities. Hubballi passengers must rely on only one KSRTC bus that runs from Mangaluru to Mumbai, which does not enter Hubballi city and the crew insists passengers board at Hubballi-Dharwad bypass. Mahendra Singhi, a social activist, told TOI that he has been urging NWKRTC officials to launch some luxury buses since the induction of Pallakki buses, for a year.
"Officials often say that they will do it next week but not launch. We are thinking of meeting the transport minister soon to seek Hubballi and Mumbai buses," he added. Mayur Patil, a frequent traveller between Hubballi and Mumbai, suspected that a nexus of officials and private bus operators must be the reason to halt buses to Mumbai.
“If we book the Mangaluru-Mumbai, which is the only bus available for online booking, the crew insists we come to Karwar Road toll gate on the outskirts of the city. Who is responsible if we are looted by miscreants there? Following the situation, I have stopped booking RTC buses to travel to Mumbai,” he shared. Uttam Sathiya, spokesperson of Indian Travellers Association, Hubballi, recalled that there used to be Rajahamsa buses to and from Mumbai 1-2 years ago.
"As the buses were of sub-standard quality, we moved to private buses. However, NWKRTC should note that Hubballi-Mumbai is a very competitive route, and only good service can be sustained there. The irony is that KKRTC is also not operating its buses from its divisions like Koppal, Hosapete and Ballari,” he noted.
H Ramanagoudar, divisional controller, Hubballi Rural, NWKRTC, said that buses were stopped some 6 months ago due to poor response from passengers. “We had launched some luxury buses, but they ran almost empty and hence we stopped it. If we get a good response, we will operate buses to Mumbai,” he added.
We also published the following articles recently Revamped Old bus terminal in Hubballi to be completely smoke-free The old bus terminal in Hubballi was undergoing redevelopment since 2022 to transform it into a smoke-free zone with advanced fire safety measures. The project's budget increased to Rs 50 crore with additional features such as escalators, lifts, and retail spaces. Completion was delayed to Dec 2024 or Jan 2025 due to elections and heavy rains.
Challenge for BEST buses in Mumbai: Swelling crowds of 1K+ riders per bus BEST buses in Mumbai faced overcrowding as daily riders per bus exceeded 1,000 in 2023-24, due to a significant reduction in fleet size. Transport experts and citizens' groups called for purchasing more buses and increasing funding. BEST plans to introduce new electric buses by 2024-25, with some commuters nostalgic for non-AC double-deckers.
Average train & bus ridership in Mumbai drops 15% in 15 years while private vehicles treble Since 2009, local train and bus ridership in Mumbai dropped by 15%, equating to 18 lakh users. Despite the addition of Metro and Monorail, the overall public transport usage declined. Intermediate transport like autos and taxis saw a rise, but the surge in private cars and two-wheelers highlights the need for improved public transport measures.
.
