6 simpler ways to commute in Mumbai

Mumbai is truly a city of dreams for people who want to make it big in life. It keeps its civilians on their toes when it comes to daily commute. Rest assured, you won’t feel short of commuting options as you’ve got everything from local trains, buses, metro trains, cabs, mono rail and autos to name a few. Local trains and BEST buses are the busiest modes of transit in the city. Its first ever Metro line connecting its western side to central has also been a major relief. Let’s have a closer look at ways in which you can commute better.

 Local trains:

Mumbai is incomplete without its local rail network. Locals here are the most popular modes of transit in the city with four different lines viz. western, central, harbour and trans-harbour. Western line connects Churchgate in the south to Dahanu Road in the north, Central connects Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus to Kalyan Junction after which it gets divided into two different routes Kasara in north-east and Khopoli in south-east. Harbour line splits into two corridors, one going towards Panvel and other towards Andheri whereas Trans-habour line connects Thane to Vashi and Nerul. These trains can help you reach wherever you please in shortest time possible at an unbelievably economical fare.  Have a look local train fare for several routes in Mumbai.

BEST Buses:

The iconic red BEST buses ferrying 4.8 million passengers over 365 routes symbolize the city. These buses connect almost every place in the city with five different routes viz. feeder routes, east west connecters, trunk routes, AC express routes, AC standard routes. All the major business districts and residential complexes are connected by feeder routes whereas east west connectors help in reaching from one side of an area to another. Trunk routes operate north to south, almost parallel to the railway line whereas AC express routes run on the expressways of the city. AC standard routes are a blessing for the as they run across the city. Its fare, frequency and connectivity makes it one of the most preferred modes of transit in the city. Here’s the fare chart of BEST buses in Mumbai.

Metro Train:

Phase 1 of metro train in Mumbai came as a breather for people commuting from central side of the city to western, especially the ones travelling to Andheri Kurla road. This 11.07 km long route has over 12 stations with annual ridership of 100 million passengers. Mumbai metro stations have been strategically positioned to connect several important areas in the vicinity. From residential areas in Andheri west to commercial complexes in Andheri east the metro now connects central side of the city too. Metro is the fastest mode of transit with the average headway of 3 minutes in peak hours. Wondering what would a metro ride cost you? Checkout the latest Mumbai Metro fare below.

Mono Rail:

Mono rail developed by the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) in association with a consortium of Larsen Toubro, Mumbai and Scomi Engineering Bhd, Malaysia is India’s first ever mono rail project after the closure of Patiala State Monorail Trainways in 1920’s. Lunched on February 2, 2014, this 19.54 km long line has 7 stations connecting Wadala Depot to Chembur with an average headway of 15 minutes.  Fare for mono rail is given as under:

Autos:

Autos are nothing but black and yellow three-wheeled cross between a rickshaw and a motorbike, commonly used in Mumbai to reach from one point of the city to another. You can hire autos from the streets or from dedicated auto stands. Here’s what you’d end up paying per ride.

Cabs:

Nothing can be simpler than finding a cab with too many taxi apps floating in the market. You’d get everything ranging from conventional black and yellow Padmini Taxis to the Ola’s and Uber’s of the world. But be ready to pay a higher price for the comfort and convenience offered. Here’s a list of top six taxi apps in Mumbai along with fare details.