If Mumbai were an animal - Local Trains would be its arteries which would carry blood to major junctions in the body (city). But the more critical function of the nerves (last mile connectivity!) would be of B.E.S.T. buses that run to and from all parts of Mumbai and into the smallest of boulevards.
If there is one service that differentiates Mumbai from other metros - it is its public transport system, and with Calcutta and Delhi having 'metro-rails', Mumbai locals are definitely not the suburban transport facilities to rival them. What makes Mumbai comfortable is the Bus Transport services. However slow and unreliable they may in terms of time, they provide the simplest way to commute to any square or boulevard in the city.
With a characteristic red-and-white color combination and unusual length, BEST buses are a part of Mumbai's identity. From Mulund to VT, Borivli to Churchgate and Mulund to Borivli - they ply in all directions and take detours to all edges of Mumbai like Versova, Juhu and Worli. Whether it is your usual travel to Dadar or a weekend picnic to Gorai beach - BEST offers the best option to reach the destination!
I admire the drivers of Best buses for their ability to get the extra-long animal through the narrowest of roads like the Sakinaka-Kurla-Kamani road that is hardly 7 Ft wide in some parts (thanks to the squatters). I admire their confidence (which is quite justified) in getting the bus through the toughest of traffic jams without a slight brush to Auto-rickshaws and cars who run past them, not more than a 6 inches away from the bus (on both sides).
The bus conductors are also to be commended for their handling of public; they move or crawl, adeptly in a jampacked bus with only place to keep you feet, identifying each new passenger and giving the ticket. Of course, Mumbai commuters too are honest enough to themselves handover the money to him from remote corners of the bus without being asked.
I remember one incident when an old lady who had to get down on the next stop gave money to the passenger next to her which traveled to the rear door (where the conductor was standing) through hands of passengers all along the way in the bus. The conductor handed her the ticket from the window, when she got down ;) !
Commuting in Mumbai has been comfortable for me from the very first day thanks to B.E.S.T. and two websites which help you search bus routes and also find out the shortest travel time. One is courtesy B.E.S.T. itself and the other is courtesy IIT Bombay:
http://www.cse.iitb.ac.in/navigator/index.html
http://www.bestundertaking.com/transport/index.htm
Epilogue: To know more about BEST and its history go to:
http://www.bestundertaking.com/org_info.asp
http://www.bestundertaking.com/his_botleft.asp
If there is one service that differentiates Mumbai from other metros - it is its public transport system, and with Calcutta and Delhi having 'metro-rails', Mumbai locals are definitely not the suburban transport facilities to rival them. What makes Mumbai comfortable is the Bus Transport services. However slow and unreliable they may in terms of time, they provide the simplest way to commute to any square or boulevard in the city.
With a characteristic red-and-white color combination and unusual length, BEST buses are a part of Mumbai's identity. From Mulund to VT, Borivli to Churchgate and Mulund to Borivli - they ply in all directions and take detours to all edges of Mumbai like Versova, Juhu and Worli. Whether it is your usual travel to Dadar or a weekend picnic to Gorai beach - BEST offers the best option to reach the destination!
I admire the drivers of Best buses for their ability to get the extra-long animal through the narrowest of roads like the Sakinaka-Kurla-Kamani road that is hardly 7 Ft wide in some parts (thanks to the squatters). I admire their confidence (which is quite justified) in getting the bus through the toughest of traffic jams without a slight brush to Auto-rickshaws and cars who run past them, not more than a 6 inches away from the bus (on both sides).
The bus conductors are also to be commended for their handling of public; they move or crawl, adeptly in a jampacked bus with only place to keep you feet, identifying each new passenger and giving the ticket. Of course, Mumbai commuters too are honest enough to themselves handover the money to him from remote corners of the bus without being asked.
I remember one incident when an old lady who had to get down on the next stop gave money to the passenger next to her which traveled to the rear door (where the conductor was standing) through hands of passengers all along the way in the bus. The conductor handed her the ticket from the window, when she got down ;) !
Commuting in Mumbai has been comfortable for me from the very first day thanks to B.E.S.T. and two websites which help you search bus routes and also find out the shortest travel time. One is courtesy B.E.S.T. itself and the other is courtesy IIT Bombay:
http://www.cse.iitb.ac.in/navigator/index.html
http://www.bestundertaking.com/transport/index.htm
Epilogue: To know more about BEST and its history go to:
http://www.bestundertaking.com/org_info.asp
http://www.bestundertaking.com/his_botleft.asp
well said mate..i dont do a lot of bus travel and while I may think that these bus drivers are an uncouth lot, their "skill" is definitely remarkable. Yes Local trains and BEST - sometimes I wonder..who needs whom more
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