Chaos greeted Thane commuters travelling to and from Mumbai on Thursday, the first day of implementation of increase in toll charges. The traffic was slow-moving at Anandnagar and LBS Road toll plazas during peak hours. Commuters had to wait almost an hour at the toll plaza as a long queue of vehicles was seen waiting at both the entry points to Mumbai.
The state government has issued a notification revising rates for toll recovery at the entry points to Mumbai last week. The one-way toll for a passenger car, which was ₹35, has been increased to ₹40.
A traffic police near the toll naka said, “Most motorists were not aware of the hike in toll prices leading to confusion early on Thursday morning. It was the first day of hike in rate, so the traffic was slow moving, but the situation was under control. As it was peak hour, the backlog and queue seemed to be quite long. The situation will be normal from next week when most people will know about the hike.”
Satish Raje, 39, resident of Ghodbunder Road, who was travelling to Chembur through the Eastern Express Highway, added, “What usually takes me hardly 10 minutes, the same stretch of road took around an hour to reach. Not many were aware of the hike in toll prices that led to confusion and traffic in the morning hours.”
Another commuter, Shirin Mathew, 44, also was stranded in traffic and took over half-an-hour to merely cross the toll plaza. Mathew, a resident of Vartak Nagar, Thane, who travels to Vikroli said, “Usually Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays are the days when the roads have traffic as many offices follow the alternate working day pattern nowadays. However, Friday being a national holiday, there were many who opted to go to work today. Moreover, the hike in toll prices also led to some confusion and traffic at the toll naka in the morning.”
{{/usCountry}}Another commuter, Shirin Mathew, 44, also was stranded in traffic and took over half-an-hour to merely cross the toll plaza. Mathew, a resident of Vartak Nagar, Thane, who travels to Vikroli said, “Usually Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays are the days when the roads have traffic as many offices follow the alternate working day pattern nowadays. However, Friday being a national holiday, there were many who opted to go to work today. Moreover, the hike in toll prices also led to some confusion and traffic at the toll naka in the morning.”
{{/usCountry}}The announcement of the hike in toll charges did not go well with the commuters and activists in Thane. “There is no daily or return pass system at the toll naka. This is a deterrent. We have to shell out more money both ways and during this pandemic, with no option of public transport, they have hiked the price further,” said Ashish Mule, 29, who car pools with his colleagues daily to Parel.
Jayant Mhaiskar, chairman and managing director of MEP Infra, which manages the toll, said, “We have deployed additional staff at the toll naka for collection until people get used to the new rates.”