Thane: Shortage of public transport troubles daily commuters in suburbs

THANE: Commuters from Thane and suburbs are spending anywhere between three to six hours daily in travelling to their respective workplaces and back thanks to the acute shortage of adequate transport facilities here.
A cursory estimate reveals that nearly five lakh residents from Thane and the extended suburbs of Kalyan, Dombivli, Badlapur could be travelling towards Mumbai in addition to others coming from the metropolis here for work. A bulk of the working population here used to rely on the suburban services for commuting. However, the existing infrastructure for a majority of the workforce here that cannot afford to travel daily by private vehicles is grossly inadequate.
Commuters complained they either have to wait too long for the buses or end up changing multiple services before they reach their workplace. The ailing elderly and women travellers complain that the long travel without any toilet option could end up adding to their health issues.
56-year-old Lata Arghade, a state government employee says she took nearly 4.5 hours to reach home at Dhobi Talao from Dombivli. “There are insufficient buses available from Dombivli considering the huge number of commuters travelling. Plus the social distancing norms are barely followed which adds to the infection risk for the elderly workforce who is also surprisingly made to report to work,” says she.
BJP corporator Manohar Dumbre from Thane complained that several residents from the city are facing inconvenience as not all of them can afford to travel by private cars. “Commuters have to change buses at the Thane-Mulund check naka and this adds up nearly two hours to their daily commute. I have been asking for more MSRTC and TMT buses to be operated till Mumbai till the time the train services resume.”
A TMT official admitted they are focusing mainly on connecting the city interiors with the Mumbai fringes so that residents can avail of other services to reach their respective destinations from there. “We ourselves are facing a staff crunch as most come from far-off places. Temporarily, we are operating 65 buses daily to and from Mulund check naka and Teen Haath naka so that corresponding journeys can be completed using BEST or MSRTC services,” said a senior TMT official.