Mumbai's public transport primarily comprises:
BRTS
NMMT-Navi Mumbai Municipal Transport operates its Volvo buses from Navi Mumbai to Bandra,Borivali and Dindoshi.
Suburban electric trains: local railway lines
Western Railway, running between Churchgate and Virar. There are plans to extend this service up to Dahanu in near future.
Central Railway, running between Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (Formerly known as Victoria Terminus [V.T.]) and Karjat/Khopoli and Kasara.
Harbour Line, running between Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (Formerly known as Victoria Terminus [V.T.]) and Panvel / Andheri. A new line has extended the Harbour Line from Panvel to Karjat.
Harbour Line, running between Vashi and Thane (via Turbhe)
Public bus service (BEST)
This system is run by a government organization Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport, the "B" formerly standing for "Bombay". It has a fleet of red single and double-decker buses. There are air conditioned and low floor buses as well.
The birth of the BEST dates back to 1873, with the setting-up of the Bombay Tramway Company Limited, which was given the licence to operate trams in the city. The Bombay Municipal Corporation (BMC) was given the right to purchase the company after twenty-five years, or after seven years thereafter. In 1874, the Bombay Tramways Act was enacted after the contract was formally signed between the Municipality and the Company to start such a transport system.
On 9 May 1874, the first horse-drawn carriage made its début in the city, plying on the Mumbai's public transport primarily comprises:
Colaba–Pydhone via Crawford Market, and Bori Bunder to Pydhonie via Kalbadevi routes. The initial fare was three annas (15 paise), and no tickets were issued. As the service became increasingly popular, the fare was reduced to two annas (10 paise). Later that year, tickets were issued for the first time, to curb the increasing ticketless travel.
From 1926 the BEST started operating motor buses.
In 1947, a week prior to India gaining independence, the BEST became an Undertaking of the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai. It now operates as an autonomous body.
The bus transport service covers the entire city and also extends its operations outside city limits into neighbouring Navi Mumbai, Thane and Mira-Bhayandar. In addition to buses, it also operates a ferry service in the northern reaches of the city. The electricity division of the organisation is also one of the few electricity departments in India to garner an annual net profit.
As of 2011, the BEST runs a total of 4,680 buses,ferrying 4.8 million passengers over 365 routes, and has a workforce strength of 38,000, which includes 22,000 bus drivers and conductors (this comes to an average of 11.2 employees per bus). Single decker buses make up the bulk of the fleet, followed by the double-decker buses and air-conditioned buses, which ply on select routes.
Types of Routes
Ordinary:Ordinary routes are the most common, with buses on these routes stopping at all stops. Buses plying on these routes are identified by a white route number on a black background.
Limited Buses: on these routes stop only at important places and skip all the minor stops in between on high volume routes. They used to have a marginally higher fare and are identified by the route number in red on a white background. In 2008, the fares of Limited and ordinary buses were brought at the same level. The route number ends with LTD.
Special: These buses ply on select routes covering railway terminuses and the central business districts. These routes have a fare marginally higher than the 'Limited' routes and are identified by the route number in white on a red background.
Express/Corridor: These buses service long distance intra-city routes, and have fares that are the same as the Special routes, but with lesser number of stops. They have route numbers indicated in red on a yellow background. These buses do not skip the flyovers, like other buses.
Air-conditioned: These buses fares a little over four times the fare of an 'Ordinary' route covering the same distance. These buses have route numbers starting with A.
Ac/Super: These buses ply on the new BRTS routes.
Popular bus stops
Ghatkopar (East), Colaba Depot, Wadala, Mahim, Borivali
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