MSRTC to run pilot service via MTHL

MSRTC to operate buses on Mumbai Trans Harbour Link from Feb 20, cutting travel time between Mumbai-Pune by an hour. NMMT also planning routes.

Mumbai: The Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) will become the first public organisation to operate its buses on the Mumbai Trans Harbour Link (MTHL) or the Atal Setu. Starting February 20, two MSRTC Shivneri buses on the Mumbai-Pune route will ply via the MTHL on a pilot basis. The Navi Mumbai Municipal Transport (NMMT) also has plans of operating buses via MTHL, while the Brihanmumbai Electric Supply & Transport (BEST) is yet to take a call on the matter.

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The two MSRTC Shivneri buses that will ply via the MTHL include the Swargate-Dadar service commencing at 7am and the Pune station-Mantralaya service commencing at 6.30am. The buses will travel via Panvel, Nhava Sheva, Sewri towards Mantralaya and Dadar, and the fare will be the same as other Shivneri buses on the Mumbai-Pune route (ranging ₹500-550, one way), said an MSRTC spokesperson.

“The route via Atal Setu is expected to save one hour of travel time and offer swifter commute between Mumbai and Pune,” the spokesperson said. Currently, 210 Shivneri buses operate the Mumbai-Pune route, covering the distance in four hours. The decision to operate buses via the sea bridge was taken after a survey, which provided insights into the potential impact on commuter patterns and preferences, said officials.

The BEST, which is still testing its Chalo Premium bus route on the MTHL, is yet to decide on plying buses via the sea bridge.

Meanwhile, private bus owners said they were plying buses via the MTHL only when they had prior bookings. “Our buses halt at Sion, Chembur etc, which cannot be catered to if we take the MTHL,” said a member of the Mumbai Bus Malak Sanghatana.

Since the inauguration of the MTHL on January 12, around 8.13 lakh vehicles have used the bridge, including 8,294 buses. Officials from the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority said since the number of commercial vehicles plying on the bridge was not significant, the projected vehicle count has not been achieved. The planning body is developing a new town on the other side of bridge in Chirle on an area of 323 square kilometres, which is expected to boost growth in the metropolitan region.