Transport activists have demanded more buses between Kurla and Bandra. Currently, commuters have to depend on autorickshaws and private vehicles, some of which are illegal, to commute from Bharat Talkies Junction in Kurla (west) to Bandra. In an email written to BEST, transport activist Jitendra Gupta said that the Kurla-BKC-Bandra route was already crowded and additional vehicles were causing more chaos. The email further stated that unless BEST mini buses were employed to substitute these additional vehicles, the problem of transport would persist in the area.
Supporting Mr Gupta’s cause, another activist A.V. Shenoy said, “I had also demanded BEST services to BKC from Bandra and Kurla stations respectively, in line with service in the Fort area. But, they replied saying that they already had one with a frequency of 15 minutes. Who is going to wait for 15 minutes?”
However, in a reply to Mr Gupta’s email, traffic manager (planning and control) of BEST undertaking said that the BEST was operating 12 bus services via the BKC area. This translates to a total 100 services during peak hours. “Buses on route 310 are available at an interval of 4-5 minutes. At a flat fare of `10, BKC-1 and BKC-2 buses are operated at an interval of 7-8 minutes. The frequency is fixed as per the availability of passengers,” said the traffic manager of BEST in response to Mr Gupta’s email.