Public transport in Mumbai

Public transport in Mumbai involves the transport of millions of its citizens by train, road and water. Over 88% of the commuters in Mumbai use public transport. Mumbai has the largest organised bus transport network among major Indian cities.

Mumbai's public transport consists primarily of rapid transit on exclusive suburban railway lines augmented by commuter rail on main lines serving outlying suburbs, the bus services of the three municipalities making up the metropolitan area, public taxis and auto rickshaws, as well as ferry services. A metro and a monorail system have recently been inaugurated. A commercial Seaplane Service has recently been introduced.

The Mumbai Suburban Railway is the oldest in Asia, founded in 1867. It is owned by Indian Railways and operated by its Western Railways and Central Railways divisions. With a length of 303 km, it has highest passenger density in the world, 6.3 million people daily, which is more than half of daily capacity of Indian Railways. It has four radial lines:

Mumbai railways offer first class commuter transport. First class fares are approximately 10 times the second class fare and therefore tend to be less crowded in the non rush hour period. First class compartments also have slightly better seats than second class. less crowded compartments during non peak hours, the first class compartments are rather more crowded during the peak hour time, as there is a large supply and demand gap.Its notoriously hard to get into the first class compartment as the coach is overcrowded with people hanging out of the doors.

There are also women-only cars (termed 'ladies'), and since 1992, 'Ladies Special' trains with all coaches reserved for women passengers.

The Mumbai suburban railway network is constantly struggling to cope with the growing population.

In January 2004, a master transit plan was unveiled by the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA). The plan integrated a 146 kilometre-long metro system, of which 32 km would be underground.

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