Suggestion of no standees on Mumbai locals impractical, say commuter bodies

Essential workers crowd to board a local at Kandivali station March 31. Pic/Satej Shinde

A random statement by a state minister that only seated commuters will be allowed on local trains triggered a debate among passenger bodies on the practicality of such a move. Official guidelines, however, have not imposed any such curbs.

"It would be impractical to impose such guidelines. How would it have been implemented? By allotting each coach to a station or by limiting halts? The state government should not be thinking about such things without the involvement of railways. How can one count heads and travel on trains," questioned Lata Argade, secretary of the Suburban Railway Passengers Association in Thane.

"One would need to reserve seats like it's done for outstation trains or allot seats on tickets to passengers if they are serious. But given the volume of commuters, the idea would be impossible," added National Railway Users' Consultative Committee member Subhash H Gupta.

Public policy (transport) expert Paresh Rawal said the overcrowding of local trains has exposed a gap in coordination between the state government and the railways. The state government needs to develop an effective SOP in consultation with the railways for suburban train operations.

"The entry and exits have to be monitored. The seats need to be allocated station-wise and coach-wise. Just declaring that no standees will be allowed doesn't translate into anything. Mumbai suburban trains have been claiming lives due to overcrowding and trespassing but now we can add Corona into the gamut," said Rawal.

Pic/Sayyed Sameer Abedi

Summer crowds at LTT spark rumours

Long queues at LTT, Kurla, on Monday sparked rumours that migrants had started Mumbai fearing a lockdown. mid-day found most were headed for places on vacation. "We have a wedding and will come back soon," said Omprakash Kumar, a traveller.

New rules for taxis, buses and autos

Starting April 10, autos and taxis can use only half of their capacity. In a taxi, if any one person is found without a mask, the offender and the cabbie will be fined R500 each. Violations of other guidelines will lead to a Rs 1,000 fine.

35 lakh
Average daily footfall on locals in March