Life in a Metro

On my first ride in Mumbai’s new underground minus the crowds

515 pm. BKC. A Wednesday

Around 30 degrees. Milling office crowds. Incessant honking. No vehicle. Ride-share apps tried keeping my hopes up — “Still looking for a driver near you…”. Three cancellations later and about 200 metres from my original location, I spot a shuttle van to the BKC metro (Line 3-Aqua [1]). Coincidentally, that very morning, Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi had inaugurated [2] the final stretch of Line 3, giving the city its first fully underground line from Aarey JVLR to Cuffe Parade. An apt day to try out this much awaited upgrade to Mumbai’s commute.

The ride to the station itself takes 15 minutes through the peak BKC evening traffic and patches of unfinished construction. Here is a candid review of my experience.

The Good

1. Gleaming Stations and Coaches

Comparable with the best metro stations in the world, it has a wide concourse with at least ten self-service ticket kiosks, one manned counter and an assistance booth with courteous staff. The coaches are immaculately maintained with adequate seating capacity. The escalators go really deep, indicating the kind of engineering challenges overcome during construction.

2. Ease of Navigation

The platform, indicator boards and exits are clearly labelled. Single ride tickets are just small pieces of paper — easy to carry unlike the coin tokens used in some other cities. Once onboard, the announcements and display boards inside the train are clear and intelligible.

3. The True Highlight

14 minutes for a 12-kilometre ride (BKC Metro-Acharya Atre Chowk (Worli Naka)) for Rs. 40. There is no other form of transportation in Mumbai that can cover this distance at this price, speed, and comfort.

The Bad

1. Ticketing Troubles and Digital Friction

Underground, the fancy façade falters. With poor mobile connectivity, the ten self-service kiosks are effectively ornamental. The interactive booking screens show noticeable lag and touch sensitivity issues. I assumed there would be free internet provided by Mumbai Metro, but found that the Wi-Fi access was password-protected — an ironic barrier! Cash options only seem to work if you have exact change. I inserted a Rs. 50 and then a Rs. 200 note, both of which were automatically returned to me without the ticket. I finally abandoned the digital option and bought a paper ticket from the manned counter.

The Mumbai One [3] app which provides options for 14 different transportation options within the MMRDA region, was (re)launched that day. I managed to login to this app later, though the onboarding experience was poor. In any case, with unreliable connectivity riders will continue to face similar challenges.

2. An Off-Track Branding Strategy

Corporate branding of stations is a lucrative and welcome revenue stream for the metro. However, the implementation seems overzealous — the same corporate group has sponsored multiple stations: SBI (three), Kotak (two), and LIC (two). The LIC-branded stations even sit consecutively — Churchgate and Hutatma Chowk. This may cause confusion and they could at least have diversified across group entities— say Kotak AMC, SBI Life Insurance — for clarity. Imagine being asked to “meet at Kotak metro”. It could mean BKC or CST— 13 stations apart!

3. An Untidy Exit

At the Acharya Atre Chowk metro exit, some building materials — pipes and fittings— lay strewn around. Surprising untidiness for a station that was inaugurated months earlier, and even faced flooding during a heavy downpour during this monsoon [4].

The Ugly

1. The Missing Commuters

Around 6 p.m., I could count only eight fellow passengers in my coach and a similar number in the adjoining ones. While this could partly be attributed to the recent inauguration, it is significantly lower than the 3,000-passenger capacity of each train [5]. MMRDA had projected a 13-lakh daily ridership,  [6] once the entire line opened. A likely reason for the low turnout is the poor last-mile connectivity — a continuing deterrent for regular commuters.

2. The Final (dis)connect

As mentioned earlier, the ride to the BKC station itself took 15 minutes during peak time. The station is also inconveniently located. If you are familiar with BKC’s layout, it is at least another 10-minute walk to Maker Maxity and JioDrive Mall (towards Western Express Highway) and maybe 15 minutes to ICICI Bank HQ. It is hardly a pleasant experience with the general humidity, uneven footpaths and aggressive traffic. For those working in the farther pockets of BKC —think One BKC, Citibank, and other offices — walking from the metro station is not an option. The proposed extension to the yellow line [7](Line 2B) with ILFS and MTNL as stops, would offer more convenient access. Between the Aqua and Yellow lines, most important locations in BKC will be covered.  However, many commuters would still need reliable options for the last one or two kilometres.

I saw a flyer for an app-based bus with these options from BKC metro. But its committed frequency of 15 minutes will be woefully inadequate during peak hours. So MMRDA and/or private players must quickly provide more feeder options, since most autos and taxis usually refuse short fares. More importantly, Line 2B is set only for a late 2027 launch [8]. Even assuming this timeline holds, this issue will persist for at least two more years.

The four to five months of monsoon each year will only magnify these challenges. Covered walkways and subway-like connectors between the stations will be essential.  The bullet train terminal at BKC [9] is also expected to get ready in 2029 [10] and claims to have easy access to both the Aqua and Yellow lines. I hope they find a way of connecting all 3 hubs to make transfers seamless.

The Spirit of Mumbai

As a perennial Mumbai optimist, I see these early irritations as entirely fixable. I will definitely use the metro at every given opportunity — its troika of speed, comfort, and cost per kilometre is an unbeatable combination.

To honour the much-clichéd “Spirit of Mumbai”, we must move beyond romanticising the Mumbaikar’s famed stoicism during adversity.  Instead, we should create catalysts that nurture the city’s true spirit — its unparalleled efficiency, limitless ambition, and egalitarian meritocracy — the very traits that will power Bharat’s growth.

Mumbaikars deserve nothing less — comfort, connectivity, and dignity in public transport that becomes a genuine catalyst for the city to realise its true potential.        

References