200 cars a day add to city’s traffic woes

The city seems to be heading for a traffic disaster with at least 200 cars and 300 two-wheelers being added to its roads every day, indicating that more people choose to travel by their own vehicles instead of using public transport.

The city seems to be heading for a traffic disaster with at least 200 cars and 300 two-wheelers being added to its roads every day, indicating that more people choose to travel by their own vehicles instead of using public transport.

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Data available with the state transport department reveals that until March 2010, 57,846 two-wheelers and 30,118 cars were added to Mumbai’s already congested roads. While the total number of vehicles in Mumbai has increased by 93,432 since 2009, the number of buses, taxis and auto rickshaws used as public transport increased by only 5,083 until March 2010.

The Mumbai Metropolitan Region has also registered a growth in the number of vehicles, many of which ferry people to Mumbai for work every day, adding to the congestion in the city.

In Thane, the number of two-wheelers on the roads rose by more than 7% and the number of cars went up by 9.8% compared to 2009. Public transport in Thane, however, has not grown enough to accommodate the growing population.