Other public transport enterprises like Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) Undertaking also rent out buses for commercial activities. Other public transport enterprises like Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) Undertaking also rent out buses for commercial activities.

Exchanging your wedding vows or celebrating a loved one’s birthday in the cushy confines of Mumbai’s Monorail may soon become possible as the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) has decided to rent out the services for private functions. Close to seven years after the Monorail began operations, the development authority now wants to put the brakes on losses with the unique move.

MMRDA officials claimed the authority is suffering losses of Rs 8.5 lakh per day to operate 97 services through five existing rakes. While the Monorail initially started operating on an eight-km stretch in 2013, commercial operations on the complete 19.54-km stretch commenced only on March 4, 2019. The new plan has been conceptualised only two days before the Monorail completes a year of commercial operations.

Under the plan discussed by senior MMRDA officials on Monday, the authority is contemplating leasing out the Monorail in designated time slots for commercial activities. “The idea is to rent out the rakes during non-peak hours. We are still working out the modalities of the plan. The purpose of launching such an initiative is to overcome losses,” said a public relations officer of the MMRDA.

Other public transport enterprises like Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) Undertaking also rent out buses for commercial activities. Over the years, the service has not been able to attract the desired ridership. The MMRDA was hopeful that 3.6 crore people would use the service every year. However, it has only managed to attain a ridership of 41 lakh.

“From March 4, 2019, to February 29, the Monorail managed to achieve a ridership of 41.87 lakh,” said an MMRDA official. As against the MMRDA’s expectations of one lakh passengers daily, over the past two months, the Monorail has managed to attract a ridership of 15,000 passengers per day. In December 2019, this was lower at 10,000.

The total cost of the project was Rs 2,700 crore. The MMRDA has been operating the service on its own after a fallout with the contractor of the project.

Transportation experts, however, have dubbed the project a “white elephant”, which has caused a strain on the MMRDA’s exchequer. At present, there are only five rakes used to operate the services on a full phase, with a gap of 23 minutes between two services in one direction.

The MMRDA is keen on increasing the ridership from 15,000 per day as of February to 25,000 in the coming months. As part of this exercise, it will introduce two more rakes, which will reduce the time to 15 minutes. It is also planning to add more rakes to ensure that passengers can access a service every five minutes.

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