BEST, MSRTC buses ferry office-goers in MMR

MUMBAI: As 10% office goers, shop owners, workers and self employed persons began their journey to workplace on Monday morning, BEST and MSRTC provided buses to ferry them from as far as Panvel, Virar and Badlapur to Mumbai.
The BEST services will ply daily during peak rush hours -- 5.30am-11.30am and 5.15pm-10.30pm. “Buses leaving from Virar will terminate at Malvani from where passengers can take connecting buses to reach their destination. Similarly, there will be buses from Nalasopara to Goregaon, Badalpur via Airoli/Shilphata to Sion, Kalyan via Mumbra-Kharigaon to Sion and Panvel to Sion,” said BEST spokesperson Manoj Varade. In the reverse direction for these routes, passengers can board buses from 3.45pm to 9pm.
The MSRTC is also operating 250 more service on Kalyan-Thane, Badlapur-Thane, Virar-Borivli routes and up to Mantralaya and BMC headquarters in south Mumbai.
BEST general manager Surendrakumar Bagde has appealed to citizens not to overcrowd any bus and to strictly follow social distancing norms besides wearing masks while travelling. A bus usually has a capacity of 51 to 54 seats and therefore only 25 people will be allowed to sit whereas there will be 5 standees allowed per bus.
The minimum fare will be Rs 5 for 5km distance while the maximum fare for longer journeys will be Rs 20, besides Rs 50 for daily pass to travel in any bus any number of times.