Mumbai Transportation Problems Have Many Solutions

Travelers to Mumbai have a number of options for ground transportation, but just like transportation systems in the rest of the world, these systems are not one hundred percent reliable.

The Mumbai Suburban Railway is a vast and busy public transportation system, analogous to the D.C. Metro or New York subway. But it is not the only means of transportation in the city of Mumbai. Locals also depend on taxis and cars (the three-wheeled kind) for ground transportation, and traveling to certain destinations requires that a passenger take multiple forms of transportation.

An acquaintance of mine had the misfortune of moving to Mumbai (with his family) at a time when the taxi drivers were on strike. At the train station, he was told to take a city bus instead. These buses are geared toward commuters – not travelers with suitcases – so it took some convincing to persuade the bus driver to allow him onboard. Eventually he succeeded.

He got off the bus at the stop closest to his new house, but he still had another three kilometers to go. With no available transportation of any kind, he and his family had to walk the remaining distance, lugging their suitcases with the help of a couple of locals. By the time they made it home, the wheels on the suitcases had broken from the rough Mumbai streets.

Of course, the taxi drivers in Mumbai are generally not on strike. On another day, my acquaintance could easily have taken a taxi from the train station to his doorstep. Because of the many transportation systems in the city, though, he was able to get home even without the use of a taxi.

Although the trains, buses, and taxis in Mumbai can occasionally cause frustration, and almost always cause crowding, they make it possible for a person with no personal mode of transportation to easily traverse one of India’s largest cities.

Sources

The information for this article came directly from an acquaintance in Mumbai who has experienced public transportation woes firsthand.


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