TMT slashes bus fares: Thane-Mumbai AC travel to get cheaper

THANE: The Thane municipal transport (TMT) undertaking has slashed its AC bus fares between 40-50% benefiting thousands of daily commuters travelling between Thane and Mumbai, municipal commissioner and administrator Abhiit Bangar announced, Wednesday.
The revised fares will be applicable to both the newly inducted electric powered AC buses and the Volvo services following an approval from the Regional Transport Authority. The intention is to compete with rising competition from BEST and NMMT services overlapping its routes and also provide comfortable travel to passengers who seem to have switched to cheaper alternatives in the last few years.
As per the revised rates, the minimum fares for the TMT AC buses would now be Rs 10 instead of Rs 20 for the first two kilometres, which is a sharp 50% drop while the maximum fare has been drastically slashed from Rs 105 to Rs 65, a near 40% cut.
“The transport committee and the administrator have okayed the fare revision and will present the same before the RTA late this week. The fares have been implemented for its newly inducted e-powered mini AC buses and will also be extended to the 30 Volvo buses once we get the mandatory RTA approval,” said Bhalchandra Behere, transport manager at the TMT.
The fare cuts is likely to prove beneficial for the commuters who would get cool comfortable rides at affordable rates while the undertaking is likely to benefit by increase in average daily passenger count. Officials said the operating cost for the diesel powered Volvo buses may be higher but they hope to recover the difference by plying higher passenger volume.
The undertaking said they want to compete with the BEST and NMMT that ply services on the Thane-Borivali and SEEPZ routes and charge nearly half of what the TMT charges. The reduced fares are also likely to draw a sizeable volume of passengers from using autos and fleet cabs. Officials said they plan to soon expand AC services to Dombivali and Panvel.