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MUMBAI: Mumbai is the most car-congested city in India. The density of private cars in Mumbai soared 18% in just two years to 510 cars for every kilometre of road. This has resulted in huge traffic jams, pollution and unauthorised parking.

Pune follows Mumbai with 359 cars per km, compared with 319 in Kolkata, 297 in Chennai, 149 in Bengaluru and 108 in Delhi, reveal statistics from state transport departments.

“If there is no control over purchase or mobility of private cars, commuting by road will become a nightmare,” said Ashok Datar, a transport expert who advocates the use of buses.

In mid-2016, the car density in Mumbai was 430 cars per km, a figure that has gone up to 510 cars/km (road length of 2,000km), according to data procured from the Maharashtra transport ministry.

Maximum high-end cars and SUVs are registered in Powai

This has taken the total number of registered private cars on city roads as of date to 10.2 lakh—around 28% of Mumbai’s total vehicular population of 36 lakh.

RTO officials said maximum car registrations were in western suburbs which has over 5 lakh registered cars, followed by 3.3 lakh in the island city and 1.7 lakh private cars in the eastern suburbs.

Officials said upmarket areas in eastern suburbs like Powai had the maximum registrations for high-end cars and SUVs in recent years. Chembur was the next big suburb on the eastern side to have car registrations in almost every middle class household, the officials stated. The Eastern Freeway is a preferred route for those in Chembur as it provides a high-speed connect to SoBo and saves over half an hour in commuting time.

RTO records also showed that Colaba-Cuffe Parade had a huge vehicular population, including many commercial vehicles, compared with tony areas of Malabar Hill, Nepean Sea Road and Pedder Road. In the western suburbs, Andheri and Goregaon had several residential and commercial hubs where car population has swelled over the years. The next three car-congested western suburbs were Kandivli, Bandra and Borivli, with a large number of households going in for bigger cars that occupy more road space, an official said.

A recent study by Mumbai Environmental Social Network, a think tank, showed that among private vehicles, 49% of road space is occupied by private cars—all types, including SUVs. This is a key reason for increasing traffic congestion, with average speed on Western Express highway dropping to 10kmph during peak hours, and on LBS Marg to less than 8kmph.

Transport experts are alarmed by the rise in private cars, which they say is an “impediment” to the growth of public transport. They fear the rise in vehicles could lead to parking woes. “There is an urgent need to set up a parking authority to implement the new parking policy, and impose congestion tax in business hubs,” said A V Shenoy of Mumbai Transport Forum. “The arterial road must be kept free of parking (on both sides) during peak hours. It will free up road space and allow movement of 50% more vehicles, especially buses,” he said, adding that rising car population also leads to pollution.

Transport commissioners, in the past, have suggested ways to control growth of car population in Mumbai. An official said the government was focused on setting up several Metro Rail corridors which will ensure a smooth commute in future and encourage public transport.

Private cars are easy to buy these days, said a car dealer. “The average age of a buyer is 18-35 and he or she can get easy EMIs and down payments. Many buyers are those who travel to work by train but prefer a car for family purpose or to drive on weekends,” he added.

