Addressing critical issues of Mumbai:

Seamless transportation: A challenge for the city

City is not a problem, city is a solution
-Jamie Lerner
The main reason for the growth and development of Bombay, has been transportation.
After the British East India company moved their headquarters to Bom Baia, the city has
been growing at an accelerated pace. The first railway track, laid from Thane to the Docks
(1853), to meet the needs of the rapidly growing industries, gave birth to the Indian
Peninsular Railway. Railway termini for both passengers and goods were located in close
proximity to the port. It was logical for wholesale markets and the tertiary sector to locate
themselves where the trade was already taking place- South Bombay.
As the land prices sky-rocketed, the common man was edged away from the CBD in the
south, resulting in a tidal pattern of commuting. People travelled southwards in the morning
and returned back in the evening. The directional pattern of this ratio was 80:20 southbound,
reversing in the evenings. This stems from the fact that 80% of the commuters in Bombay
used public transportation. But with the ever increasing load of commuters, the existing
infrastructure is now falling short of service.
Seamless Transport System (STS) relates to single trip consisting of combined modes,
public transport is a sub set of it. At present these short trips made by different modes are
inconvenient for commuter in terms of time and money. At the same time the transport
modes are not synchronized, further adding to waiting time.
For many years now, Thane guardian minister Ganesh Naik has been commuting from his
Navi Mumbai residence using his personal boat. He travels between Belapur and Gateway
of India in less than half an hour as compared to two hours taken by ordinary travellers by
road and rail.(MID-DAY, 2015)
In this context, the city's Eastern waterfront is particularly interesting and of great relevance.
The development of Bhaucha Dhakka for east-west connectivity using water transportation
can transform the organization of mobility. The focus is on developing a new public water
transportation system. This project, connecting Ferry Wharf to Belapur, Nerul, Vashi and
Mandva will relieve the pressure off the harbour line and the existing road transport
infrastructure. An optional system for freight transportation will efficiently de-congest the
roads. Ro-Ro services will save time and resources. Furthermore, a 'Golden Triangle'
connecting Mumbai, Nashik and Pune can also be established.
In the precinct, the P.D'mello road is a 6km long arterial north-south access road in Mumbai,
connecting Eastern freeway (south) and Colaba Causeway (north). This connectivity will be
further boosted by the proposed metro project between Sakinaka and Dockyard. This
availability of intermodal connectivity not only boosts use of public transportation, but also,
by the involvement of various stakeholders, makes this corridor viable for the development of
public amenities.