Mumbai city traffic

MUMBAI: In the past two years, autorickshaws and aggregator cabs have multiplied on Mumbai's streets at the expense of kaali-peelis whose numbers have now dwindled to merely 20,000.

Latest state transport department data shows a 53% rise in the auto population and 82% in tourist cabs since 2016. As many as 86 brand new autos and 40 tourist cabs- 80% of which comprise aggregators such as Ola and Uber-have hit the roads daily between 2016 and 2018. Currently, there are nine times as many autos and three times as many tourist cabs as the black-yellow taxis. Kaali-peelis once numbered 65,000; that shrunk to 38,000 a few years ago, and has now further halved.

There were 1.2 lakh autos in Mumbai two years ago. The state government removed the 1997 freeze on permits in 2017. Now, anyone can apply for an unlimited number of permits-subject to market demand. Since 2016, their number swelled by 63,000, with most registered in the past one year alone. This was mainly due to the demand for share autos on feeder routes outside every railway station in the suburbs. The population has grown to 1.8 lakh autos in Mumbai suburbs as of date-the primary reason for congestion on station roads and stretches that link thickly populated colonies.

Meanwhile, the number of tourist cabs grew from 37,229 in 2016 to 67,640 in 2018-an increase of 30,411. For driving an Ola or an Uber, all a cab owner needs is an all India tourist permit, a vehicle fitness certificate and insurance. The aggregator firm checks a driver's bona fides based on a certificate issued by a local police station.

Sources said that increase in refusals, huge long-distance fares and poor quality of kaali-peelis had worked in favour of aggregators.

BEST, another popular mode of public transport, has also seen a huge dip in its fleet size from 4,200 buses to 3,300 in five to six years-a 21% drop.

"The only solution to this problem will be to give buses the right of way on city roads," said transport expert Ashok Datar. "It is good that people are opting for autorickshaws and private cabs for public transport. But it is high time we also encourage other modes of public transport such as buses which can carry passengers equivalent to eight to nine cars/cabs but occupy less road space."

"One of the reasons why passengers opt for other modes of transport, including Ola, Uber and share autos, is the long wait at bus stops. There is a drop in distance covered by BEST buses and coupled with congestion on road, the frequency is poor and buses don't arrive on time," said BEST panel member and BMC opposition leader Ravi Raja.

