The concept of social distancing has finally got drilled into the minds of Mumbaikars. On Wednesday, there was a considerable drop in the number of people travelling by public transport such as trains, buses, cabs and even autos.
The taxi drivers are complaining that they were earlier able to secure 30-40 trips but now getting 10 is also becoming difficult. BEST bus has reported a passenger drop of 21 per cent, while the ridership in the state buses dropped by 51 per cent. Now both the bus services have also announced that they will now allow passengers to stand and travel. In addition to this, it was also noticed that there were lesser jams and congestion on the roads.
There was a 40 per cent drop in Metro commuters as well. Coming over to Mumbai Local, Western Railway 27 per cent and Central Railway 20 per cent.
Maharashtra is currently one of the worst-hit states in India. There are currently 49 people that have tested positive for Coronavirus (COVID-19) in the state, out of which 10 are from Mumbai, while there are three each from Navi Mumbai and Kalyan.
The state government has asked private operators to let people work from home and not have more than 50 per cent staff in the office. They have also urged people to cut down on all non-essential travel. While it was announced on Monday itself but not many private companies were taking it seriously. Following this BMC and Mumbai Police have been asking employees to complain in case their employers are forcing them to come to the office. They have also been asking people to avoid crowded places.
There have been numerous reports claiming that public transport in the city may be shut down. However, Uddhav Thackeray had maintained that they will continue to ply the same for now. The frequency of trains has been reduced.
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