Service and Business Plan for City Bus Operations - Mira ...

Service and

Business Plan for City Bus Operations -

Mira Bhayandar

Project Consultancy-7 (PC-7)

Service and Business Plan for City Bus Operations for two ESCBS Cities Chandigarh and Mira-

Bhayandar under the World Bank – GEF assisted Efficient and Sustainable City Bus Services

(ESCBS) Project

December 2020

Volume I – FINAL REPORT

Submitted by:

Centre of Excellence in Urban Transport

CEPT Research and Development Foundation

Service and Business Plan for City Bus Operations for Mira Bhayandar and Chandigarh

Final Report – Mira Bhayandar

Acknowledgement

The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA), Government of India, assigned the work of

preparation of “Service and Business Plan for City Bus Operations for Mira Bhayandar and

Chandigarh” to the Centre of Excellence in Urban Transport, CRDF, CEPT University. CoE-UT,

CRDF are grateful to the MoHUA for having reposed trust in us for carrying out the important study

as part of the World Bank GEF aided Efficient and Sustainable City Bus Services (ESCBS), to

promote bus based public transportation in the country.

CoE-UT, CRDF hereby acknowledge that the precise expert advice received from the World Bank’s

experts Mr. Brian McCollom, Mr. Brendan Finn and Ms. Nupur Gupta, Senior Transport Specialist,

was of immense value in bringing out these reports. Direction and advice provided to the study team

by Mr. I. C. Sharma, National Project Manager for ESCBS is highly appreciated and acknowledged.

Continual guidance and suggestions from Mr. Sudesh Kumar from Mott MacDonald added value

from the stage of initialisation till completion of the study. CoE-UT, CRDF are thankful to the Project

Management Unit’s team for their support all through.

Outcomes of this exercise would not have been possible but for the efforts made by the officers of the

Mira Bhayandar Municipal Transport Undertaking (MBMTU) and Chandigarh Transport Undertaking

(CTU)/ Chandigarh City Bus Services Society (CCBSS) and their continued support in providing all

required data and other inputs at various stages of the study.

CoE-UT, CRDF are also thankful to Mr. Hiren Joshi and Mr. Nirav Joshi from Coordinates

Consultants for the technical inputs in the project.

CoE-UT Team



Project Team

Project Team Leaders

Prof. H. M. Shivanand Swamy

Dr. Shalini Sinha

Technical Advisor Mr. A. S. Lakra

Socio-economic Specialist Dr. Nitika Bhakuni

Core Team Mr. Khelan Modi

Ms. Maitry Shah

Mr. Suraj Sunil

Support Team

Ms. Hemangi Dalwadi

Mr. Jignesh Panchal

Ms. Yaksha Chakravarti

Ms. Anushree Jain

Mr. Preet Amin

Mr. Ritesh Suthar

Ms. Nisha Pramanik

Ms. Grishma Mehta

Ms. Diti Upadhyay

Mr. Jaydeep Kalaria



List of Abbreviations

AMTS Ahmedabad Municipal Transport System

BA Boarding-Alighting

BEST Brihanmumbai Electricity Supply and Transport

CAGR Compound Annual Growth Rate

CAM Chief Account Manager

CAMC Comprehensive Annual Maintenance Contract

CEO Chief Executive Officer

CMP Comprehensive Mobility Plan

COM Chief Operation Manager

CPKM Cost per Passenger Km

CVC Classified Volume Count

DTC Delhi Transport Corporation

EPKM Earning per Passenger Km

ESCBS Efficient and Sustainable City Bus Services

ETM Electronic Ticketing Machine

ETVM Electronic Ticketing Vending Machine

EV Electric Vehicle

F & A Finance and Account

FU Fleet Utilisation

FY Future Year

GCC Gross Cost Contract

GR Growth Rate

HDW Headway

HH House Hold

HRD Human Resource Department

IPK Index Passenger Km

IPT Intermediate Public Transport

ITMS Intelligent Transport Management System

JnNURM Jawaharlal Nehru Urban Renewal Mission

KCR Kilometre Charge Rate

km Kilometre

KPI Key Performance Indicators

LF Load Factor

LOS Level of Service

MACT Motor Accidents Claims Tribunal



MBMC Mira Bhayandar Municipal Corporation

MBMTU Mira Bhayandar Municipal Transport Undertaking

MC Municipal Corporation

MIS Management Information System

MoHUA Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs

MVT Motor Vehicle Tax

NCC Net Cost Contract

OD Origin-Destination

OEM Original Equipment Manufacture

OR Operating Ratio

PO Private Operator

PPHPD Passengers Per Hour Per Direction

PPP Public Private Participation

PSO Public Service Obligation

PT Public Transport

R & M Repair and Maintenance

RfP Request for Proposal

RTO Regional Transport Office

SLA Service Level Agreement

SMF System Management Fees

SQ Service Quality

STU State Transport Undertaking

TCO Total Cost of Ownership

TCRP Transit Cooperative Research Program

UT Union Territory

VGF Viability Gap Funding

VU Vehicle Utilisation

WFPR Work Force Participation Rate

WPI Wholesale Price Index



CoE-UT, CRDF, CEPT University, KL Campus, University Road, Navrangpura, Ahmedabad-380009, India Page ii

Table of Contents

Executive Summary .......................................................................................................................................1

1 Introduction ............................................................................................................................................9

1.1 Study Background ..............................................................................................................................9

1.2 City Background ................................................................................................................................9

1.2.1 Existing Transport Characteristics and Overview ................................................................12

1.2.2 Travel Characteristics ..........................................................................................................16

1.3 Overview of the city bus services ....................................................................................................17

1.4 Vision and Objectives ......................................................................................................................17

1.4.1 User and Non user perceptions (Primary survey and Mott Report) .....................................18

1.4.2 Past Studies ..........................................................................................................................19

1.4.3 Mission, Vision and Strategies .............................................................................................19

2 Service Plan for city bus services ........................................................................................................21

2.1 Model Development .........................................................................................................................21

2.2 Existing bus services ........................................................................................................................23

2.2.1 Bus Routes ...........................................................................................................................24

2.2.2 Fleet Size ..............................................................................................................................25

2.2.3 Bus Terminals and Depots ...................................................................................................25

2.2.4 Fare Structure, Ticketing and Concession ...........................................................................26

2.2.5 Bus Network Analysis .........................................................................................................27

2.2.6 Passenger Ridership .............................................................................................................33

2.2.7 Operations Performance Assessment ...................................................................................33

2.2.8 Financial Performance .........................................................................................................37

2.2.9 City Bus Demand .................................................................................................................37

2.2.10 Existing Intermediate Public Transport (IPT) System .........................................................44

2.2.11 PT and IPT Demand in 2020 ................................................................................................46

2.2.12 Private Demand Patterns ......................................................................................................55

2.3 Observations ....................................................................................................................................55

2.4 Proposed Bus Network.....................................................................................................................56



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2.4.1 Future Network Scenarios ....................................................................................................56

2.5 Service Plan Output .........................................................................................................................77

3 Bus Service Infrastructure Plan ............................................................................................................79

3.1 Bus Stops .........................................................................................................................................79

3.2 Terminals .........................................................................................................................................81

3.3 Interchanges .....................................................................................................................................83

3.4 Depots ..............................................................................................................................................85

4 Future Demand Assessment and Fleet Requirement ...........................................................................87

4.1 Demand Assessment ........................................................................................................................87

4.1.1 User and non-users’ preferences ..........................................................................................87

4.1.2 Previous Studies ...................................................................................................................87

4.2 Proposed Business Plan Scenarios 2030 ..........................................................................................88

4.3 Fleet requirements ............................................................................................................................89

4.3.1 Vehicle types and capacities ................................................................................................89

4.3.2 Fleet Size and Mix Selection Criteria ..................................................................................90

4.3.3 Fleet Size and Mix Scenarios ...............................................................................................91

5 Financial Analysis ................................................................................................................................95

5.1 Cost Estimates ..................................................................................................................................95

5.2 Existing Operation Expenditure .......................................................................................................95

5.3 Cost Estimation ................................................................................................................................95

5.3.1 Lifecycle cost for different bus types ...................................................................................97

5.3.2 Cost estimates for fleet mix scenarios ..................................................................................98

5.4 Revenue Estimation .......................................................................................................................103

5.4.1 Demand Estimation for fleet mix scenarios .......................................................................103

5.4.2 Fare structure .....................................................................................................................104

5.4.3 Fare Proposal .....................................................................................................................105

5.4.4 Ridership Buildup ..............................................................................................................109

5.4.5 Fare Box Revenue ..............................................................................................................109

5.5 Financial Evaluation for fleet mix scenario ...................................................................................111

6 Operating Model ................................................................................................................................113



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6.1 Service Delivery .............................................................................................................................113

6.1.1 Overview of Bus Operations Model ..................................................................................113

6.1.2 PPP Operating Model Contract types ................................................................................114

6.1.3 Existing PPP contract for bus operations in Mira Bhayandar ............................................117

6.1.4 Proposed Operating Model ................................................................................................117

7 Key Performance Indicators...............................................................................................................121

7.1 Performance Measures and Vision & Goals of MBMC ................................................................122

7.2 Proposed performance measures ....................................................................................................124

7.3 Performance measures – existing and proposed scenarios ............................................................128

8 Organizational Structure ....................................................................................................................132

8.1 Existing structure of MBMT ..........................................................................................................132

8.2 Existing structure of operator .........................................................................................................133

8.3 Observations and Recommendations .............................................................................................134

8.3.1 Proposed Divisions and functions ......................................................................................134

8.3.2 Bus Fleet ............................................................................................................................136

8.3.3 ITMS ..................................................................................................................................137

8.3.4 Branding and marketing of services ...................................................................................137

8.3.5 Revenue collection .............................................................................................................137

8.4 Proposed Organisational Structure .................................................................................................137

8.5 Summary ........................................................................................................................................143

9 Complementary Measures..................................................................................................................144

9.1 Managing Road Congestion in Mira Bhayandar ............................................................................145

9.1.1 Road network assessment on proposed routes ...................................................................146

9.2 Parking Management .....................................................................................................................150

10 Business Plan Summary .................................................................................................................152

10.1 Fleet size and mix ..........................................................................................................................152

10.2 Fleet Procurement Plan ..................................................................................................................152

10.2.1 Depot requirements ............................................................................................................153

10.2.2 Drivers/Conductors halt facilities ......................................................................................156

10.3 Capital Costs ..................................................................................................................................157



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10.4 Operating Costs ..............................................................................................................................158

10.5 Revenue estimation ........................................................................................................................158

10.5.1 Proposed Fare Structure .....................................................................................................158

10.5.2 Estimated revenues ............................................................................................................159

10.5.3 Sources of Funding ............................................................................................................159

10.6 Operating Model ............................................................................................................................160

10.7 Management Structure ...................................................................................................................160

10.8 Other Measures ..............................................................................................................................161

List of Figures

Figure 1: Mira Bhayandar as part of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region .......................................................9

Figure 2: Population Density (2011) ............................................................................................................10

Figure 3: Road Network (2020) ...................................................................................................................13

Figure 4: Road widths (2020) ......................................................................................................................14

Figure 5: Network Speeds (2020) ................................................................................................................15

Figure 6: Commuter preferences for bus service improvement areas ..........................................................18

Figure 7: Strategic Directions ......................................................................................................................19

Figure 8: Overall Study approach ................................................................................................................22

Figure 9: Base year transport network (2020) .............................................................................................23

Figure 10: Depots and major terminals in the city .......................................................................................25

Figure 11: Fare Structure .............................................................................................................................26

Figure 12: PT network coverage (2020) ......................................................................................................27

Figure 13: Routes in Mira Bhayandar ..........................................................................................................30

Figure 14: Route frequency distribution ......................................................................................................32

Figure 15: Revenue vs cost chart .................................................................................................................37

Figure 16: Temporal variation of bus system demand .................................................................................41

Figure 17: Ridership changes from September 2019 to February 2020 ......................................................41

Figure 18: Bus supply vs demand analysis ..................................................................................................44

Figure 19: Shared auto rickshaw nodes and network...................................................................................45

Figure 20: Base year PT (bus passenger) flows (2020) ...............................................................................47

Figure 21: Base year year IPT (shared auto passenger) flows (2020) .........................................................48

Figure 22: Travel pattern of city bus users (Top 100 OD pairs and other OD pairs) ..................................49

Figure 23: Travel pattern of IPT users (Top 100 OD pairs and other OD pairs) .........................................50

Figure 24: Trip length frequency distribution – PT & IPT ..........................................................................51



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Figure 25: Major boarding locations of Bus users .......................................................................................51

Figure 26: Major total boarding locations of IPT users ...............................................................................52

Figure 27: PT and IPT demand pattern in Mira Bhayandar .........................................................................54

Figure 28: Travel pattern of private vehicle (2W & 4W) users ...................................................................55

Figure 29: Additional routes to be implemented .........................................................................................59

Figure 30: Route Structure for Scenario 1 ...................................................................................................61

Figure 31: Conventional routes planning vs. network planning approach ...................................................67

Figure 32: High Demand PT Routes ............................................................................................................68

Figure 33: High Demand IPT Routes ..........................................................................................................68

Figure 34: Proposed feeder, complementary and sub urban routes .............................................................71

Figure 35: Proposed feeder, complementary and sub urban routes .............................................................73

Figure 36: PT network and bus stops (2020) ...............................................................................................79

Figure 37: Existing and Proposed stops .......................................................................................................80

Figure 38: Stop locations by number of bays ..............................................................................................81

Figure 39: Existing Infrastructure Facilities ................................................................................................83

Figure 40: Proposed Interchange Locations .................................................................................................84

Figure 41: Life cycle cost in Rs/km (at current prices) for one sample bus type .........................................98

Figure 42: Total cost of ownership by cost components at constant price ................................................103

Figure 43: Frequency distribution for proposed routes/ services ...............................................................104

Figure 44: Suggested fare options and comparison with competitive modes ............................................107

Figure 45: Future ridership builds up – Fleet mix scenarios ......................................................................109

Figure 46: Bus Operation models ..............................................................................................................114

Figure 47: PPP contract types ....................................................................................................................115

Figure 48: PPP Contracts –Merits and Demerits .......................................................................................116

Figure 49: Vision, Mission and Strategic Directions .................................................................................123

Figure 50: Objectives and Performance Measures of the Service Plan .....................................................123

Figure 51: Current organizational structure of Mira Bhayandar ................................................................132

Figure 52: Proposed Organizational Structure ...........................................................................................139

Figure 53: Major congestion locations in Mira Bhayandar ......................................................................145

Figure 54: Images of the major congested locations in Mira Bhayandar ..................................................146

Figure 55: Depot locations and fleet distribution for FY2030 ...................................................................156

Figure 56: Locations with halt facilities ....................................................................................................157

Lists of Tables

Table 1: Comparison of population growth in nearby urban areas (1991-2011) .........................................11

Table 2: Population (1991-2020) .................................................................................................................11



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Table 3: Vehicles Registered in Mira Bhayandar and Thane (2011 and 2017) ...........................................12

Table 4: Road lengths by type (2019) ..........................................................................................................12

Table 5: Mode share inside and outside MBMC – 2016 .............................................................................16

Table 6: Average trip lengths by different modes within MBMC ...............................................................17

Table 7: Details of data collected .................................................................................................................21

Table 8: Data inputs for model ....................................................................................................................22

Table 9: Details of MBMTU bus routes ......................................................................................................24

Table 10: Concessions on various ticket categories .....................................................................................26

Table 11: Details of daily and monthly pass ................................................................................................27

Table 12: Areas to be connected by bus services in Mira Bhayandar..........................................................28

Table 14: Distribution of routes based on headways ...................................................................................29

Table 15: Indexed Passenger km by service type ........................................................................................34

Table 16: Distribution of total vehicle km between peak and non-peak hours ............................................34

Table 17: Distribution of total vehicle km by service headways .................................................................34

Table 18: Route level performance assessment ...........................................................................................36

Table 19: Operating Ratio for last 3 years ...................................................................................................37

Table 20: Boarding and Alighting Survey details-Mira Bhayandar ............................................................38

Table 21: Route wise performance parameters details ...............................................................................39

Table 22: Ridership and Frequency difference from Sep 2019 to Feb 2020 ...............................................43

Table 23: Major auto rickshaw nodes within the city ..................................................................................45

Table 24: Fare of Shared Autos ...................................................................................................................46

Table 25: Ridership Details .........................................................................................................................47

Table 26: Scenario description .....................................................................................................................57

Table 27: BAU Routes 2020 ........................................................................................................................57

Table 28: List of proposed routes by MBMC – Scenario 1 .........................................................................62

Table 29: Proposed routes ............................................................................................................................74

Table 30: Number of bus stops and bays requirement ................................................................................80

Table 31: Terminal Points ............................................................................................................................83

Table 32: Interchange types .........................................................................................................................84

Table 33 User and Non-user preferences .....................................................................................................87

Table 34: Mode Shares 2031 as per CMP ....................................................................................................88

Table 35: Mode shares as per Bus Modernization Plan ...............................................................................88

Table 36: Demand Scenarios and Bus Mode Share .....................................................................................88

Table 37: Fleet type .....................................................................................................................................89

Table 38: Capacities offered by fleet type and headways ............................................................................89

Table 39: Buses per 1000 population by cities categories ...........................................................................90

Table 40: Fleet type scenarios ......................................................................................................................91



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Table 41: Existing fleet procurement and scrapping plan ............................................................................91

Table 42: Fleet requirement – by scenario ...................................................................................................92

Table 43 Total fleet (on road + extra fleet) procurement plan – Fleet mix scenarios ..................................93

Table 44: Existing Operational Expenditure (In lakhs) ...............................................................................95

Table 45: Bus type and price on road ..........................................................................................................96

Table 46: Operational Cost (at current price) per vehicle km by components ............................................96

Table 47: Total Operational Cost Estimates comparison (2023-2030) ........................................................99

Table 48: Demand estimation for fleet mix scenarios ...............................................................................104

Table 49: Existing fare structure and previous fare revision .....................................................................104

Table 50: Suggested fare options ...............................................................................................................106

Table 51: Revenue per pax km (Fare/ pax km) ..........................................................................................108

Table 52: Future fare revision on shortlisted fare option ...........................................................................109

Table 53: Concessions and Discounts for regular users .............................................................................110

Table 54: Fare box revenue estimation for fleet mix scenarios .................................................................110

Table 55: Evaluation Framework (Dashboard) – Fleet Mix Scenarios ......................................................112

Table 56: VGF per kilometer for operation of city bus operations ............................................................117

Table 57: Responsibility matrix – Operator and Authority .......................................................................118

Table 58: Service quality standards for the bus service operator under NCC ...........................................121

Table 59: Penalties for defaults and service deficiencies as per NCC contract .........................................121

Table 60: Proposed performance categories and status .............................................................................124

Table 61: Proposed indicators for performance measures .........................................................................125

Table 62: Indicators and values for existing and proposed service scenarios ............................................128

Table 63: Road network assessment on proposed routes ...........................................................................147

Table 64: Fleet-mix Scenarios ...................................................................................................................152

Table 65 Total fleet (on road + extra fleet) procurement plan – Fleet mix scenarios ................................152

Table 66: Depot area requirement for future .............................................................................................153

Table 67: Fleet allocation to depots – shortlisted business plan scenarios ................................................154

Table 68: Dead km and expense by scenarios ...........................................................................................154

Table 69: Total Capital Cost (in Cr.) Investment (2020 to 2030) ..............................................................157

Table 70: Cost Assumptions ......................................................................................................................157

Table 71: Operating cost for Scenario 2A, 3 and 4 ....................................................................................158

Table 72: Proposed fare structure and comparison with existing bus and IPT fare ...................................158

Table 73 Farebox revenue estimation for fleet mix scenarios ...................................................................159



CoE-UT, CRDF, CEPT University, KL Campus, University Road, Navrangpura, Ahmedabad-380009, India Page 1

Executive Summary

Project background

Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, Government of India under Efficient & Sustainable City Bus

Services has commissioned the study to prepare Service and Operations Plans for bus services in the

cities of Chandigarh and Mira-Bhayandar to the Centre of Excellence in Urban Transport, CRDF. The

main objective of Service and Business Plan is “To optimize the effectiveness and viability of the

public transport network and services in Mira Bhayandar city”.

City Context

Mira Bhayandar Municipal Corporation (MBMC) with an area of 79 sq. km and a population of 8.1

lakhs (2011 Census) has witnessed a rapid population growth due to a significant increase in

economic opportunities in Mumbai and its peripheral regions. With this increasing growth trajectory,

the city’s current population is estimated to have reached nearly 12 lakhs. The average household size

in the city is 4.43 in 2011 which is higher than the national average household size.

MBMC started bus services in the city since 2005 which has been predominantly operating on a Net

Cost Contract (NCC). In 2019, MBMTU signed the Net Cost Contract with M/s Bhagirathi to carry

out city bus operations for six years as per which the operator manages bus operations, its scheduling,

fare collection, bus maintenance, etc.

Study Approach

The study was undertaken in four stages a) baseline analysis which involved assessment of existing

bus service levels, operational areas of intermediate public transport (IPT) services, demand patterns

of bus, IPT and private mode users and concurrence of demand and supply levels; b) Stakeholder

analysis which included inputs from MBMC and MBMTU regarding future vision and strategies as

well as user perception survey to capture their priority service attributes; c) Developing the bus

service plan which was based on a detailed analysis of route wise ridership and demand structure and

evaluated using a PT model; and d) Business Plan which included fleet type and infrastructure

requirements, bus operations, performance monitoring framework, financial analysis and investment

requirements over the next ten year period.

Key observations

The baseline analysis of the bus system shows that the services cover about 82% developed area in the

city; however the high frequency network covers only 48% of the city’s developed area. The existing

route structure completely neglects Bhayandar East area which is a major residential zone in the city.

Majority of the routes are originating from Bhayandar Station and Mira Road station terminal with

two routes originating from Uttan Naka terminal. Initially, MBMTU used to park its buses at Pleasant

Park (a land located near Mira road), with no depot available in the system. Currently, with the

introduction of additional fleet in the system, Mira Bhayandar has a newly constructed Ghodbunder

depot for maintenance and parking requirement of buses.

In terms of fleet size, Mira Bhayandar would require about a total of 120-500 buses by 2030

depending on the Level of Service targeted. As per MoHUA Service Level Benchmarks, cities should




have a minimum of 0.1 buses as per LOS3, 0.25 for LOS2 and 0.4 as per LOS1. As against this, the

city has only 66 buses i.e. 0.07 buses per 1000 population, which translates to LOS 4. The average

fleet utilization as per Feb 2020 data is 86% which is below the average benchmark level of about

92% in other Indian cities. The daily average vehicle utilization in the city is 237 km per bus per day

including the dead km which is reasonable. Load factors for most of the routes are ranging from 0.3 to

0.4 in a day, which seems lower compared to standard of 0.7. Nevertheless, city buses witness a load

factor of 0.5 during city peak hours.

Vision and Objectives

Taking into consideration MBMC’S inputs and commuters’ perceptions, MBMTU’s Mission has been

defined as “Providing reliable, efficient and high-quality bus services for residents of Mira

Bhayandar”.

The vision for the bus service is -- Making bus a preferred mode of travel in Mira Bhayandar

To support this vision, following strategic objectives have been defined:

Provision of a bus system which is integrated with rail and upcoming metro system where

commuters can travel easily between modes.

Commuter-centric bus system with ‘turn up and go’ frequency and responding to local

demand patterns in different times of the day

Bus system connecting existing developed areas and upcoming areas with high quality and

safe services

Efficient operations and financial management for long-term sustainability of MBMTU.

Proposed Bus Network

The existing routes were analysed for the passenger demand and load factor at different route

segments. This along with proposed demand patterns were used for modifying existing routes and

proposing new routes. Some key principles adopted are:

Retaining existing high demand PT routes without any major modification to ensure not to disturb

major passenger flow.

Connecting neighbouring towns or suburban areas with major city terminals/ nodes and providing

frequent services to ensure good connectivity for the commuting population.

Consolidating routes along major corridors to reduce the number of routes overlapping and

simplify route structures

Based on the IPT and private vehicle demand pattern, provide routes in the major demand

interaction zones.

New routes to improve the coverage and provide complementary movement within city.

The following types of routes have been proposed:

1. Feeder routes: In the city of Mira Bhayandar, there are a high number of daily commuting

passengers to Mumbai travelling by rail; for them high frequency feeder services have been




developed connecting different parts of the city to Bhayandar and Mira road railway stations.

A total of 9 and 7 routes have been proposed to Bhayandar rail station and Mira road rail

stations respectively.

2. Complementary routes: Current route structure is centralized predominantly serving only two

railways stations and does not connect other parts of the city directly. Five complementary

routes are proposed based on the IPT demand interaction patterns.

3. Sub urban routes: Six routes are proposed providing connectivity to Thane, Uttan, Garoi and

Mumbai with high frequency.

Business Plan

Trajectory of vision realisation and the timeline is a function of the agency’s intent and drive along

with constraints like financial resources and land availability for infrastructure facilities. Alternative

scenarios are developed and presented as part of the business plan, which the cities could choose from

for deciding on an appropriate business strategy for bus services in the city.

The existing mode share is 4% and for the year 2030, three alternate mode share scenarios have been

outlined – 11%, 20% and 25%.

Mode share realisation is a function of the service levels (fare levels, bus quality, frequencies and last

mile connectivity) delivered to the commuters along with the proactive communication on the bus

service improvements being undertaken. In the plan period of 10 years, moderate scenario (mode

share 20%) has been considered for developing the service and business plan. However, in case a

proactive approach is taken by MBMTU in the short to medium term in terms of fleet addition,

infrastructure development and roll out of the service plan, a higher trajectory for achieving 25%

mode share could also be considered.

Fleet size and mix: Three possible fleet-mix scenarios for fleet mix and type has been proposed:

a) Standard buses: 182 buses

b) Standard-midi mix: 288 buses (24 standard and 264 Midi)

c) Midi and mini mix: 369 (229 Midi + 140 Mini)

Guiding principles for selection

The target mode share of 20% -25% by 2030 would require significant quantitative as well as

qualitative improvements in the bus services.

The city has re-introduced bus service with standard buses in 2019 and should monitor the build-up of

the ridership levels. Keeping in perspective the target PT mode share over the next decade, the city

may consider transitioning to midi/minibuses to be able to offer high frequency services in order to

induce a mode shift to buses. Also, measures like information availability through apps and websites

apart from at-stop information would help passengers plan their journeys better.




Auto-rickshaws operating as shuttle service pose a big competition to the buses and facilitating a shift

from them would require buses which are affordable, frequent and easily accessible. With smaller bus

sizes (Midi / Mini), it would be possible to offer a high frequency service with better load factor

levels. In addition, these buses may have a much higher penetration in the congested city centre

having narrow roads (Bhayandar East).

The requirement of number of smaller buses would be more compared to requirement of standard

buses because of lesser capacity; however it is estimated that the operating ratios would improve due

to the potential of higher passenger ridership levels with better service headways and connectivity.

The fleet-type to be assigned on routes should be decided based on criteria such as passenger demand

levels, routes on narrow streets or in congested areas. Switching to a different bus type should not

pose a big challenge as the average age of a bus is 8-10 years and hence the transition could happen

gradually as old buses get phased out.

Depot requirements: There is one existing depot at Ghodbunder that can accommodate 45 standard

buses. Apart from this, another depot location has been identified at Uttan. In addition to these two

depots, one additional depot would be required to accommodate these buses. The tentative location

proposed is adjacent to the metro depot near the Mira Road station.

Scenarios 2A 3 4

All Standard Stand + Midi Midi + Mini

Total Depot Area Requirement (in acre) - 2030 9.08 11.77 13.71

Existing Depot Area available (in acre) 2.5 2.5 2.5

Additional Area Requirement for Depots (in acre) 6.58 9.27 11.21

Additional number of Depots 1

(Uttan)

2

(Uttan +

additional

location near

metro depot)

2

(Uttan +

additional

location near

metro depot)

Capital costs: Cost estimates have been worked out for the entire plan period 2023-2032 for the 3

alternative scenarios at constant prices.

Cost heads 2A 3 4

All Standard Stand + Midi Midi + Mini

Capital infrastructure cost

(incl.bus stops, terminals, depots,

ETVMs etc) in Cr

110 138 171

Fleet cost in Cr 143 130 133

Total Cost in Cr 253 268 304

Overall investment for all three scenarios by 2030 would be around Rs.250 to Rs.300 crore, where

cost of fleet i.e. around Rs.130 Cr to Rs.143 Cr may/ may not need to be borne by MBMTU

depending up on the operating model that MBMTU selects.

Operating Costs: The total operating costs vary from Rs.940-1200 Cr over the plan period depending

on the fleet mix scenario.




Cost component \ Scenarios Scenario 2A -

Standard Buses

Scenario 3 -

Standard + Midi

Scenario 4 -

Midi + Mini

Fuel Cost 362.9 345.5 375.3

Lubricant Cost 5.4 5.2 5.6

R & M Cost 159.0 209.2 210.4

Insurance + MVT + MACT + RR Tax 17.4 16.5 16.1

Staff Cost 218.3 338.9 407.8

ITMS Operating Costs 9.0 9.2 9.4

Cost of Depreciation - Total 80.3 75.8 74.1

Cost of Fund - (Expected returns & Interests) 48.3 45.7 44.8

Miscellaneous Cost 41.7 48.4 52.6

Operational Cost (excluding cost of fund and

cost of depreciation) 814 973 1077

Total Cost 942 1095 1196

Operating Model: While the bus market is being developed, bus routes would need to be flexible and

may have to be tweaked based on the travel patterns of passengers. At the same time, while the new

routes are being introduced, the existing routes may have to be removed, modified or gradually

withdrawn. The current Net Cost Contract may not provide enough flexibility in such an evolving

scenario. The services would also need to be adapted due to uncertainties of demand – hence, it is

suggested to consider a Gross Cost operating model.

Proposed fare structure: The proposed fare structure is as below;

Distance Range

(km) Existing NAC Fare Existing AC Fare IPT Fare

Proposed Fare

(all NAC)

0 – 2 6 20 10 5

2 – 4 8 30 20 10

4 – 6 11 35 30 10

6 – 7 / 7 – 10 13/15 40 30 10/15

>10

17,18,19,20,21,

22,23,24,25,26

(Fare changes every 2kms)

50,55,60,

70,75,80


15

It is proposed to revise the fare structure every two years based on a fare revision formula.

Sources of Funding: The operating ratio for Standard, Midi and Midi-mini fleet scenarios is estimated

to be 0.40, 0.58, 0.68. Hence, the farebox revenues will not be entirely sufficient to recover the cost of

operations. Identification and earmarking of alternative funding sources are important. Innovating

funding sources like green tax, parking charges, and developing depots and terminals on a PPP basis

can be explored. There is an opportunity for Mira Bhayandar to develop terminals located at the city

center. Similarly, depot land can also be developed with high FSI to contribute more in non-fare box

revenue. With such measures, non-fare box revenue could be further increased which could be used

for covering operating deficits and improving service levels. Further, any operating deficits would

have to be covered through Viability Gap Funding by the Government of Maharashtra. One of the

major capital expenses is the cost of the fleet of around INR 130-143 crores over the next 10 years.

Various operating models could be tested – for example in GCC the operator could bring in buses as

per MBMC’s specifications.




Management Structure: In comparison to existing structure, one significant change in existing

positions – removal of Depot Manager - is suggested. Since Gross Cost Contract is being suggested,

revenue management would be a major task, hence a separate finance department would be essential.

Creation of four divisions namely Operations, Technical, Administration and Finance is proposed.

The overall staff requirement of MTBT can be limited to 0.15 personnel per bus for upto 100 buses,

where after it may be limited to 0.10 per bus upto 200 buses. Depending on the fleet size and mix

scenario, the manpower requirements would have to be worked out. In case of a standard bus scenario

with a fleet size of 180, three divisions of operations, technical and finance could be set up. For e.g. in

the initial phases, three divisions of operations, technical and finance could be set up and functions of

administration could be handled by MBMC by adding a dedicated administrative assistant and as fleet

size increases, a separate administration division under MBMTU could be added.

To ensure that a quality bus system is delivered, apart from monitoring of the outcome, setting up of a

process monitoring system is essential. Depot level technical staff could undertake this task of

checking of service schedule preparation as per SLAs, regular maintenance of buses, etc, and also

help in ensuring coordination with operator, ITMS agency and revenue collection agency. A process

monitoring system along with outcome monitoring may prove to have a better effectiveness in

achieving delivery of quality services.

Other Measures: Apart from putting in place an efficient service, marketing and branding are crucial

to improve the overall image of the bus system. Some of the possible measures could be targeted

marketing campaigns, color branding of routes, awareness and sensitization towards sustainable

transport modes, etc. Also, the provision of accurate and reliable real-time information to existing and

potential users is also important in improving the visibility of the system and building trust in the

MBMTU. Apart from the route, service and fare information at bus stops and terminals, websites and

apps should also be developed. Prioritising buses on road to eliminate delays would make the service

more reliable. Discussions with local authorities could be undertaken for prioritizing of bus services at

junctions along with regulated usage of private vehicles on highly congested routes. Regulation on

private traffic in terms of high parking charges or control on the availability of parking spaces could

also influence the shift from private to PT modes.

A phased implementation of new bus routes would be required. New buses should be gradually

inducted on new routes to allow for development of demand. At the same time, modification and

withdrawal of the old routes should be implemented with prior information regarding alternate routes

to ensure a seamless transition with minimum inconvience to transit users.

Performance Indicators: Performance indicators are useful tools for ensuring monitoring the quality

of the delivered transit services. It is important to identify indicators of relevance as “what gets

measured, gets attention”. A performance measurement system should take into consideration the

vision and objectives set by the transit agency. Hence, apart from the existing MBMC indicators,

additional indicators have been identified for monitoring of services. These 21 indicators relate to

both user and agency set of measures and can be categorized as service availability, service delivery,

service effectiveness, safety, efficient operations and cost efficiency. The proposed service plan

demonstrate an improvement in terms of various indicators – service availability in terms of buses per

1000 population improves to LOS 3 with 183-374 buses from LOS 4, transit access area in Mira

Bhayandar increases to 94% and 92% of that has access to high frequency stops as against 54% in the




current scenario. Also, with improved bus supply and area coverage, the average passenger wait time

for bus journeys is around 3-7 mins.




1 Introduction

1.1 Study Background

With increased dependence on personalised modes for travel and declining ridership on public

transport, cities are now struggling with traffic congestion, delays, air pollution and road accidents. As

outlined by the National Urban Transport Policy 2006, cities need to focus on sustainable modes of

transport like public transport and non-motorised modes to move towards a sustainable future. Several

cities are now concentrating on improving the service levels of existing public transport systems. It is

in this context that the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, Government of India under Efficient &

Sustainable City Bus Services has commissioned the study to prepare Service and Operations Plans

for bus services in the cities of Chandigarh and Mira-Bhayandar to the Centre of Excellence in Urban

Transport, CRDF.

1.2 City Background

Mira Bhayandar is one of the eleven sub-regions of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) and is

part of the Thane district of Maharashtra as seen in Figure 1. Mira Bhayandar is surrounded by hills

on the eastern side, along with Arabian Sea on the west side of the city. The North side of the city is

surrounded by Vasai Creek. The Municipal Area of Mira Bhayandar is about 79.4 sq.km and includes

nine Gram Panchayats namely Bhayandar, Kashi, Mira, Navghar and Ghodbunder, Chena, Varsova,

Rai-Murdhe, Dongri-Uttan.

Figure 1: Mira Bhayandar as part of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region




The city is well connected with surrounding regions as the Western Express Highway (NH8) passes

through the Kashimira Junction near Ghodbunder. Kashimira also leads the city to Mira Road,

Bhayandar, and coastal villages of Uttan, Gorai, Manori, and amusement parks. City also comprises

of two railway stations falling on the major Mumbai Suburban Railways with both fast and slow

trains to Mumbai.

The Western Railway line (Dahanu Road- Church Gate) divides the city, in two halves. The eastern

part of the city is more densely populated than the other part. It is observed that the wards closely

located on the east and west side of Bhayandar station have a high population density ranging from

760-1000 persons per ha. However, wards further west in the city - Murdha, Rai, Morwa Gaon and

Dongri have low density of less than 100 persons per hectare.

The average household size in Mira Bhayandar was 4.43 in 2011 which is higher as compared to 3.8

in Mumbai and less as compared to the average national household size. The average household size

in India and Maharashtra is 4.9 and 4.6 respectively (Census 2011). From the population density map

(Figure 2), it is evident that the areas of East Bhayandar and Mira have higher concentration of

households in comparison to other parts of the city. Apart from the growth potential in East

Bhayandar, city, on the other hand, has tourism attraction opportunities on the western part that

houses several recreational and leisure destinations.

Figure 2: Population Density (2011)

Based on the population growth rate of Mira Bhayandar from 2001 to 2011, population for the current

year has been estimated as 12 lakhs. This also matches with the estimates in the Draft MMR Regional




Plan for the year 2036. Table 1presents the population and its growth from 1991 to 2011 based on

census publication. There is negative population growth rate in Mumbai along with a massive increase

in population in the adjoining sub-urban region of Mumbai. The major population growth is seen in

Mira Bhayandar and Navi Mumbai as 55.6% and 59.2% during 2001-2011 period respectively. Thane

has also seen a positive decadal population growth rate of 55.2% during this period. The projected

population for Mira Bhayandar for the year 2031 as per the Draft MMR Regional Plan (2016-2036) is

17.13 lakh with 2021-31 growth rate of 3.1%.

Table 1: Comparison of population growth in nearby urban areas (1991-2011)

City Population1 GR

91-01

CAGR

91-01

GR

01-11

CAGR

01-11

1991 2001 2011 20202 (%)

Mira Bhayandar 1,75,400 5,20,301 8,09,378 12,06,912 196.6 11 55.6 5

Thane 52,41,000 81,31,849 110,60,148 1,45,87,317 55.2 4 36.0 3

Mumbai 94,49,897 33,38,031 30,85,411 28,74,441 -64.7 -10 -7.6 -1

Navi Mumbai 3,87,206 7,03,947 11,20,547 17,02,673 81.8 6 59.2 5

Vasai-Virar 97,381 6,37,529 12,22,390 21,96,082 554.7 20. 7 91.7 6.7

Source:1 Population (Census Tables), Growth Rate (GR), Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) 2. Draft MMR Regional Plan (2016-2036).

Table 2 illustrates that Mira Bhayandar witnessed rapid growth during the last two decades. The

growth rate in the period 1991 – 2001 has been the highest for the city. The population crossed 8

lakhs in 2011, after a significant increase in population from 1.75 lakh in 1991 to 5.2 lakh in 2001.

Table 2: Population (1991-2020)

Year Area (sq. km) No. of Households Population CAGR (%)

1991 79.4 38,361 1,75,605 -

2001 79.4 1,17,276 5,20,301 11.47

2011 79.4 1,87,059 8,09,378 4.52

2020 79.4 2,78,410 12,06,912* 4.52

Source: Comprehensive Mobility Plan Interim Report, 2012 (For 1961-1981), Census India (For1991- 2011)

* Draft MMR Regional Plan (2016-2036).

Sex ratio in Mira Bhayandar was 885 which is below the national average sex ratio of 943 and state

average of 929 as per the latest report of Census 2011. It has however increased from 817 in 2001,

indicating an increase in the female population as the city is developing as a residential hub due to the

increasing migrating population.

The total number of vehicles registered in the city of Mira Bhayandar in the year 2011 is around 1.25

lakh out of which 1.09 lakh were passenger vehicles and about 33 cars per 1000 population. There has

been about 50% increase in passenger vehicles from 2011-2017 as seen in Table 3 below.




Table 3: Vehicles Registered in Mira Bhayandar and Thane (2011 and 2017)

Sr No Category Total no. of vehicles

Mira

Bhayandar

(2011)

Thane

(2011)

Mira

Bhayandar

(2017)*

Thane

(2017)

1 Passenger Vehicles

i. Motor cycle 65,851 5,26,862 98,715 7,89,801

ii. Scooter 6,553 1,81,588 9,803 2,71,642

iii. Moped 374 13,255 393 13,921

iv. Car 27,128 3,12,489 35,128 4,04,645

v. Jeep 676 36,884 599 32,702

vi. Taxi Tourist Cab 2,076 24,302 3,061 35,835

vii. Auto Rickshaw 6,320 86,668 8,895 94,549

1,08,978 11,82,048 1,51,484 16,43,095

2 Freight Vehicles

i. Container Carriage 430 7316 723 12,302

ii. Truck and Lorries 2,262 70,460 2433 75,779

iii. Tankers 2,326 9,405 3142 12,704

iv. Deliver van (4-Wheeler) 4,350 50,709 6011 70,076

v. Deliver van (3-Wheeler) 6,270 45,324 7953 57,487

vi. Tractor Trailers 249 8,418 347 11,738

15,887 1,91,632 19,904 2,40,086

3 Others 26 1,210 37 1,701

Total 1,24,891 13,74,890 1,71,217 18,84,882

Source: Motor Transport Statistics of Maharashtra, 2011 and 2017 and https://vahan.parivahan.gov.in/vahan4dashboard/

* Estimated based on Mira-Bhayandar and Thane proportions in 2011

1.2.1 Existing Transport Characteristics and Overview

1.2.1.1 Existing Road Network and Hierarchy

NH8 is a major corridor connecting key western cities in India and passes through the eastern part of

the city. Mira Road is the spine that connects the city to surrounding areas through NH8. Table 4

shows the road network distribution with respective road lengths and percentage share of each type:

Table 4: Road lengths by type (2019)

Sr. No. Road Type Length (km) Share (%)

1 NH/SH 9.9 3

2 Arterial 28.4 9

3 Sub-Arterial 58.9 20

4 Collector 99.3 33

5 Local Road 102.5 34

Total 299 100

Source: Computed based on Google imagery 2019

Figure 3 represents the major road network in the city. Around 17% of the developed area is under

roads and the road density is 3.8 km/sq.km. Within 79.4 sq.km of the municipal area, NH8 and Mira

road contribute to 12% of the total road network. Figure 4 shows that the road providing access to

stations has a varying roadwidth ranging from 7.5 m – 19 m carriageway width. Also, the important

commercial centres in East Bhayandar are located on collector and local roads with 3.5m-7m

https://vahan.parivahan.gov.in/vahan4dashboard/




carriageway width. The road providing access to the fish markets and east Bhayandar railway station

is also having similar road widths. Small-scale commercial shops and informal vendors are all along

these roads in the city.Due to unsignalized intersections and narrow road widths, roads in East

Bhayandar get congested during peak hours.

Figure 3: Road Network (2020)

Source: Google Imagery 2019

Only 23% of the road length in the city has divided carriageway. The majority of the roads in East

Bhayandar do not have divided carriageway and dedicated footpaths for pedestrians. In comparison,

Mira Road and sub-arterials in the western part of the city are developed with signalized intersection,

NMT facilities and divided carriageway thereby ensuring accessibility to all types of vehicular modes.




Figure 4: Road widths (2020)


1.2.1.2 Travel Speeds

The speed profile of the network, as seen in Figure 5 , is poor with the morning peak travel speed at

15 kmph and the evening peak travel speed at 13 kmph (Google Maps 2019). The worst affected is the

access road to Bhayandar station since the road width is quite narrow with heavy traffic flow with the

average travel speed at 9.22 kmph. The traffic going towards Western Expressway has added to the

congestion on the road and reducing the travel speeds to 10 kmph on the connections (towards

Kashimira Junction).




Figure 5: Network Speeds (2020)


1.2.1.3 Railway

The Mumbai suburban rail is the primary mode of transport for people in the city travelling to

Mumbai. There are two railway stations in the city namely Mira Road station and Bhayandar station.

According to rail passenger statistics for Mumbai Metropolitan Region, a seasonal pass holder makes

on an average 1.77 trips daily across the western railway during the year 2009-10 (Mira Bhayandar

Municipal Corporation, 2013). In addition, the statistics estimate that approximately 56,034 pass

holders performed daily 99,370 trips through Mira Road Station and 64,312 pass holders performed

1,14,050 trips through Bhayandar station (CMP, 2013).

1.2.1.4 Bus Services

Buses are the second most popular mode of transport for intercity trips. The city bus system consists

of buses operated not only by the local municipal corporation but also those from surrounding

municipalities/organization. The bus operating authority MBMTU is a municipal undertaking of Mira

Bhayandar Municipal Corporation (MBMC) and has been constituted under the provisions of Bombay

Provincial Municipal Corporations Act in year 2006. There are 13 routes – 13 regular services and 2

AC services (February 2020) with an operational fleet of 54 buses. All routes except one originate

from the two suburban rail stations i.e. Mira Road and Bhayandar Railway Station. The Mira

Bhayandar bus system serves a total of 83 km with a total of 234 bus stops.




The current sub urban and regional travel demand is also catered to by the Thane Municipal Transport

(TMT), Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) and Maharashtra State Road Transport

Corporation (MSRTC) undertakings.

1.2.1.5 Intermediate Public Transportation

As per 2011 vehicle registration details, city had about 6300 auto rickshaws on road and it is

estimated that there are 9000 auto rickshaws in the city currently. Most of the auto rickshaws also ply

on a shared basis along major corridors in the city. Further, road widths also constrain the bus

operations particularly in the eastern part of Bhayandar, leading to connectivity needs being

predominantly served by auto rickshaws and/or private vehicles. As per CMP 2016, about 20% daily

trip are using auto-rickshaws.

1.2.2 Travel Characteristics

1.2.2.1 Mode Share

Table 5 below shows the mode share of the city in the year 2016. It is observed that walk trips

dominate the internal trips generated in the city and 22% are private mode trips. As per this report,

three wheelers (majority operating as shared services) carry 20% of the trips and buses carry another

15%. However, the bus ridership in 2014 was 56000 passengers, which translates to around 5% share.

Therefore for this study, bus share has been considered as 5%.

Table 5: Mode share inside and outside MBMC – 2016

Mode Internal Trips within MBMC External Trips Access to Station

Walk 41.90% - 26.80%

Cycle 0.10% - 1%

2W 9.50% 5% 7.90%

3W 20.30% 1.40% 9.90%

4W 12.80% 16.70% 5.60%

Bus 15.40% 36.20% 48.90%

Train - 40.70% -

Total 100% 100% 100%

Source: CMP Mira Bhayandar 2013

It is also clear that 78% of the external trips are covered by public transport services as Mumbai

suburban Rail, MBMT, BEST, MSRTC and TMT. Around 21% of the external trips are on private

vehicles and only 1.4% are IPT trips. It can be observed that fewer number of 3-wheeler trips are

made for longer trips outside Mira Bhayandar. In terms of the access and egress modes of the rail

trips, about 49% of the trips are covered by buses, 27% of trips to/from station are by walk and 10%

by three-wheelers.




1.2.2.2 Trip Length

As per the CMP, the average trip length for intra-city trips in Mira Bhayandar is 3.7 km. Average trip

length by auto within MBMC is around 2.8 km. Table 6 below describes the average trip length

covered within city limits by different modes.

Table 6: Average trip lengths by different modes within MBMC Description (within MBMC) Average trip length (km)

Average Trip Length for Car 3.8

Average Trip Length for Two Wheelers 3.2

Average Trip Length for Auto 2.8

Average Trip Length for PT 4.9

Source: CMP Mira Bhayandar 2013

It can be seen that the trip lengths in the city are short, with trip lengths on buses around 5km. This

could be attributed to city growth concentrated around the two rail stations.

1.3 Overview of the city bus services

Buses are the second most popular mode of transport for intercity trips in Mumbai metropolitan area.

The bus system consists of buses operated not only by the local municipal corporation but also those

from surrounding municipalities/organization. The bus operating authority Mira Bhayandar Municipal

Transport (MBMT) is a municipal undertaking of Mira Bhayandar Municipal Corporation (MBMC)

and has been constituted under the provisions of Bombay Provincial Municipal Corporations Act in

year 2006.

Mira Bhayandar city has since grown very rapidly (5% per year population growth) with a significant

population commuting to different parts of Mumbai for work and education. The bus services till now

have not been able to keep pace with such rapid increase in population, and this has led to the

emergence of shared auto services and private vehicle trips. The city of Mumbai has had a public

transport culture owing to the linear city structure and the rail services being the primary mode of

commuting for people. Mira Bhayandar has two rail stations – Bhayandar and Mira Road providing

connectivity to Mumbai through the rail services. The demand pattern depicts most trips being

destined to these two stations so that the passengers can use the rail services to reach other

destinations in the Greater Mumbai region.

1.4 Vision and Objectives

Setting up of vision and objectives for the bus operations is critical to the success of the business plan.

For Mira Bhayandar, MBMC formulated the vision and the strategies based on the inputs received

from the city residents as well as the past studies.




1.4.1 User and Non user perceptions (Primary survey and Mott Report)

In absence of an efficient bus system within the city, the passengers have to depend on shared auto

services which are not as affordable as the public transport systems. Going by the growth trends in the

city, travel demand is expected to grow very rapidly. It thus becomes important to plan for an efficient

bus service in the city, to attract people towards public transport.

Bus users and non-users’ priority areas for improvement were captured in commuter surveys

undertaken in the city in November 2019 (Figure 6). The bus users’ priority indicates a preference for

improved service frequencies followed by improvement in travel times. In the case of 3-W users,

frequent services along with safety, travel time and affordable fares are identified as important.

Further, 2-W users also indicate frequent services as key.

Bus users’ priorities

3-Wheeler users’ priorities

2-Wheeler users’ priorities

Figure 6: Commuter preferences for bus service improvement areas

Since 2005 when MBMTU started bus services in the city, they have been mainly operating it on Net

Cost Contract (NCC). Till now, MBMTU has changed three operators in last 15 years because of

losses incurred in services and inefficient service operations.




1.4.2 Past Studies

As per a User Satisfaction Survey (Mott Macdonald, 2017-18) in Mira Bhayandar, service attributes

related to “punctuality & reliability”, “cleanliness”, “maintenance” were found to be important for the

users. Measures related to women's safety like installation of CCTV cameras, lighting inside the buses

as well as at bus shelters, women crew, etc. were also recommended in the study. Further, fleet size

enhancement along with improved service coverage was also highlighted as being important.

The objective as set out by the Comprehensive Mobility Plan 2031 is to “Provide good quality public

transport system that is accessible, efficient and effective”. The plan suggests developing 3 tiers of the

public transport system for Mira Bhayandar consisting of new metro connectivity, improving rail

services and bus services and integrating all the modes for an efficient PT system.

The Bus Modernisation Plan presents the bus service improvement plan intending to move towards

sustainable solutions and improving the public transport ridership.

1.4.3 Mission, Vision and Strategies

Taking into consideration user perceptions and past studies, MBMTU’s Mission has been defined as

“Providing reliable, efficient and high-quality bus services for residents of Mira Bhayandar”.

The vision for the bus services is:

Making bus a preferred mode of travel in Mira Bhayandar

In line with this vision statement, strategic objectives have been defined as shown in Figure 7:

Figure 7: Strategic Directions

To support this vision, the following strategic objectives have been defined:

Integrated bus network with rail and upcoming metro system: Provision of a bus system

where commuters can travel easily between modes.

Integrated with other

modes

High quality and demand responsive

service

Accessible to all parts of the

city

Financial Stewardship




Frequent and local demand-responsive services: Commuter-centric bus system with ‘turn up

and go’ frequency and responding to local demand patterns at different times of the day

Access for all and improved connectivity to all parts of the city: Bus system connecting

existing developed areas and upcoming areas with high quality and safe services

Financial Stewardship: Efficient operations and financial management for the long-term

sustainability of MBMT.




2 Service Plan for city bus services

Preparation of a service and business plan requires a thorough assessment of the existing situation in

terms of transport service supply, demand patterns, the operational and financial performance of the

bus services along with demand and service levels of competitive modes. Table 7: Details of data

collectedTable 7 below presents the data requested and collected for route rationalization and

proposed service plan:

Table 7: Details of data collected

Category Data collected Source Primary/

Secondary

Ro

ute

Rat

ion

alis

atio

n a

nd

Ser

vic

e P

lan

In

pu

ts

Operational

performance

assessment

Bus service expenditure details - System wide MBMTU Secondary

Route wise ridership and vehicle km

Fleet size, Fleet utilisation, vehicle utilisation

Schedule adherence and trip cancellation

Capacity utilisation (Load factor)

Indexed passenger km

Bus staff ratio

Bus operational expenditure and its breakup

Existing fare structure, ticketing and concession

details and revenue

Assessment of

existing transport

service supply

Types of Bus services MBMTU Secondary

Operational routes alignment, routes frequency and

fleet details

Stops locations and stop sequence by route

IPT routes structure and alignment Field survey Primary

IPT stops and major demand nodes

Existing demand

assessment

Bus demand - ETM data MBMTU Secondary

Bus Boarding - Alighting details Field survey Primary

IPT demand and its BA details by stops Field survey Primary

Passengers access egress pattern at terminals Field survey Primary

Private vehicular demand Field survey Primary

2.1 Model Development

A public transport demand model has been developed using EMME 4.4.3 software to analyze the

existing bus demand and understand travel patterns of bus users as well as IPT. Figure 8 below shows

the study approach.




Figure 8: Overall Study approach

The modelling area was taken the same as the study area. The first step was to delineate the modelling

area. In terms of the existing development area in Mira Bhayandar, it was observed that around 27%

of the MBMC area is currently developed. Since the current development area is well within the

municipal limits, it was decided to undertake the MBMC area as the study region with few suburban

areas such as Gorai and Manori.

The data inputs used for modelling are presented in Table 8 and Figure 9 below:

Table 8: Data inputs for model

Type of data Details

Demand Data Existing Bus demand – ETM data

IPT demand – OD surveys at major IPT stops

Pvt. Demand – OD surveys at major work centers/parking locations

Network Data Road network from Google earth

Public Transport network – stops, corridors, routes, service details (headway, speed etc.)

46.6 km bus network within municipal area and total 83 km PT network in city and suburban




Type of data Details

areas; 13 routes (15 services including AC services), 234 stops (149 within city), 3 terminals

IPT network - stops, corridors, routes, service details (headway, speed etc.)

49.5 km of shared auto rickshaw network, 24 routes, 30 major IPT stops

Model

calibration

data

Travel speeds and travel time on major network (2019)

Classified Volume Counts

Figure 9: Base year transport network (2020)

2.2 Existing bus services

MBMTU started bus services in the city in 2005 and they mainly operate the services on Net Cost

Contracts (NCC). MBMTU has changed three operators in the last 15 years because of losses incurred

in services and inefficient service operations. The second operator contract was terminated in 2015

and from 2015 to 2019 MBMTU operated the services by themselves. However, because of poor

financial performance, it was decided to contract out the bus operations again in 2019.

In 2019, MBMTU signed the Net Cost Contract with M/s Bhagirathi in order to carry out city bus

operations for six years where the operator has to manage bus operations, it's scheduling, fare

collection, bus maintenance etc. The city bus operations under the new contract were initiated in Sept

2019 and the buses and services are being added incrementally.




2.2.1 Bus Routes

As per the February 2020 data, there were a total of 13 operational routes– two routes have separate

AC services also operating (refer Table 9 below).

Table 9: Details of MBMTU bus routes

Route

no.

Service

Type Description

City /

Sub

urban

service

Length

(km)

Total Fleet

deployed

Headway

(min.)

Daily Veh. Km

(Operated_17th

Feb 2020)

1 Regular Bhayandar st.(W) to

Chowk City 14.2 5 20 1,684


Uttan Naka City 10.3 5 14 1,306

15 Regular

Mira Road St.(E) to

Rasmi Comp.via.

S.K.Ston Bevarly park

cine max

City 4.1 4 10 524

16 Regular

Mira Road St.(E) to

Laxmi Park Tiwari

College vai Cinemax

City 3.2 5 8 511

21 Regular

Mira Road Station [E] to

Ramdev Park Via Rasaz

Theater Bharati Park

Shivar Garden

City 3.1 3 14 595

22 Regular

Mira Road Station [E] to

Shanti Vidhya Nagari

Via Jain Mandir Vijay

Park Silver Park

City 4.4 4 13 650

24 Regular Mira Road Station [E] to

Western Park City 5.7 6 10 1,066


Essel World Sub 16.1 3 40 819

6 Regular Uttan Naka to Manori

Tar Sub 11.6 3 27 826

8 Regular Uttan Naka to Gorai Tar Sub 9.7 2 30 474

10

Regular

Bhayandar st.(W) to

Thane St. (E) Kopari)

Via W.E.H Majiwada

Sub 34.5 8 23 1,808

AC

Bhayandar st.(W) to

Thane St. (E) Kopari)

Via W.E.H Majiwada

Sub 34.5 3 60 751

14 Regular

Bhayandar st.( E) to

Magathane Depo Via

kashimira borivali St (E)

Sub 13.5 8 15 1,073

29

Regular Mira Road to Thane

Kopari Sub 30.2 5 28 1,572

AC Mira Road to Thane

Kopari Sub 30.2 2 70 262

Source: February 2020, MBMTU

Most routes originate from the two suburban rail stations i.e., Mira Road and Bhayandar Railway

Station. Of the total 13 routes, 7 are city routes while 6 are sub-urban routes. The sub urban routes

serve surrounding areas and two suburban routes to Thane, have separate AC services also operating.




2.2.2 Fleet Size

As per the proposed fleet deployment plan received from MBMTU, the proposed fleet size for 21

routes is 79. However, fleet for operational 13 routes is 66 buses, hence the existing total fleet size is

considered 66. As per MoHUA Service Level Benchmarks, cities should have a minimum of 0.1

buses/1000 population as per LOS 3, 0.25 buses/1000 population for LOS 2 and 0.4 buses/1000

population as per LOS 1. As against this, the city has only 66 buses i.e. 0.07 buses per 1000

population, which translates to LOS 4.

2.2.3 Bus Terminals and Depots

There are four terminals, across the city, three out of which are located closer to the sub-urban rail

stations; Bhayandar West, Bhayandar East (not operational), Mira Road East and the fourth is located

in Uttan, a coastal town under MBMC jurisdiction.

Depot facilities are important considering maintenance and parking requirement for buses. The

regular maintenance of fleet at depot facility is important to ensure a longer life of urban buses. The

design components of the depot would include a fuelling station, minor inspection pits, major

inspection pits, washing area, and painting and denting areas, spare parts storage, engineers’ cabin and

administration unit as well as bus parking. A new depot has been constructed in Ghobundar, with the

control centre in place. Prior to this, the buses were parked on roads closer to the rail stations,

Bhayandar West and Mira Road East and Pleasant Park (another depot on the eastern side of the city).

(Refer Figure 10 below)

Figure 10: Depots and major terminals in the city




2.2.4 Fare Structure, Ticketing and Concession

A distance-based fare structure that is currently operational in the city is illustrated in Figure 11 below

based on the type of service. The minimum fare is Rs.6 for ordinary buses and the maximum is 32

while the same for AC buses is 20 and 100 respectively. Currently, there are only two routes to Thane

where AC buses are playing. A significant difference is observed in the fares of the regular and AC

services.

Figure 11: Fare Structure

(Source: MBMTU, 2019)

MBMTU has started ETM ticketing system on all the routes in December 2019 and they have also

operationalized Intelligent Transit Management System (ITMS) at Ghodbunder. Public Information

System (PIS) for the bus service is being planned for a total of 15 stops and has been initiated on four

major stops.

The corporation provides concessions on its fare and/or free travel facilities to various categories of

citizens including children, physical handicapped, and senior citizens as mentioned in Table 10. Fifty

percent discount is applied on ordinary buses however no discount is applied on AC buses.

Table 10: Concessions on various ticket categories

Service

Type

Ticket

Category

Discount

(%)

Minimum

Fare (Rs)

Max. Ticket

Quantity

(Nos.)

Apply Digital

Ticket Discount

Digital Ticket

Discount (%)

AC Luggage 0 20 8 Yes 10

AC Child 0 20 8 Yes 10

Ordinary General 0 6 8 Yes 0

Ordinary HIV 50 3 1 No 0

Ordinary Companion 0 6 1 No 0

Ordinary Handicap 50 3 1 Yes 0

Ordinary Senior

Citizen

50 3 8 Yes 0

Ordinary Blind 50 3 1 No 0

Ordinary Student 0 6 1 No 0

Ordinary Luggage 50 6 8 Yes 10

Ordinary Child 50 3 8 Yes 10

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26 28 30 32 34 36 38

Fa

re (

Rs)

Distance (km)

Fare Structure

Non- AC Fare AC Fare





Table 11 below provides details on the daily and monthly pass for MBMT, the single day pass costs

50% of the actual cost, while a monthly pass is worth 20 days of fare.

Table 11: Details of daily and monthly pass

Sr No Category Cost

1 Single Daily Pass 50% of the actual cost

2 Monthly Pass 20 days fare


2.2.5 Bus Network Analysis

Bus network and routes were analysed based on various network assessment criteria which are

important from the passengers’ perspective. This focuses on PT network coverage, routes structure,

routes frequency and the length of routes.

2.2.5.1 Network Accessibility

The total PT network length is 46.6 km within the study area, which seems to be less as it is only 23%

of the total road network. Taking a 500-meter buffer, the PT covers 18 sq. km area of the city, i.e.

82% of the built-up area, and also covers about 86% of the total population within the city.

Figure 12: PT network coverage (2020)




Figure 12 above shows the coverage area in Mira Bhayandar. In Uttan and Mira East, most of the

developed area is reached out by public transport network while in Bhayandar East few pockets have

no PT network within easy reach.

The developed areas that are essential to be connected by bus services are shown in Table 12 below:

Table 12: Areas to be connected by bus services in Mira Bhayandar

Bhayandar East Mira East and other areas

• Jesal Park

• RNP park

• GaonDevi

• Amrut Nagar

• Navghar Phata

• Mandvi Pada

• Poonam Sagar Complex

• Uttan (Alibaugh road)

2.2.5.2 Bus Routes Structure

All the public transport routes were coded into the model and the PT network was analysed in terms

of its route structure. Most of the routes start from the two terminals at railway stations which provide

interchanges with rail . Distribution of Routes from major terminals is presented in Error! Reference

source not found. below.

Sr. No. Major Terminals No. of Routes

(Services)

Service nos. Percentage (%)

1 Bhayandar Railway Station 5 (6) 1, 2, 4, 10/10AC, 14 38%

2 Mira Road Railway station 6 (7) 15, 16, 21, 22, 24,

29/29AC

46%

3 Uttan Naka 2 6, 8 15%

Total 13 (15) - 100%

Source: Data from MBMTU February 2020, Compiled by CoE-UT, CRDF

As there are only 13 operational routes in the city (Figure 13), overlapping of routes is less. Mira

Bhayandar Road and Uttan road are the two corridors where overlapping of routes is observed. There

are 5 routes on Mira Bhayandar road, which have a common section of about 2 km while along Uttan

road 3 routes are overlapping for around 7 km, all originating from Bhayandar Station.

As new routes are added to improve coverage, overlapping should be avoided as this may cause

confusion for passengers and increases their waiting times at the bus stops. It may also lead to

demand-supply mismatch in the overlapping sections.

2.2.5.3 Frequency of Bus Routes

The frequency of bus services has an impact on passenger waiting time. Table 13 below shows the

routes and the service headways. All the city routes have headways of less than or equal to 20 minutes

while suburban routes have higher headways (Figure 14).

20% (3 routes) have <=10 min headways can be considered high frequency routes and 40% (6 routes)

which have between 11 to 20 min headways can be considered moderate frequency routes. Anything

beyond 20 min would not be recommended for urban bus services.




Apart from the number of routes, it is also important to see network length covered by high and

moderate frequency routes. It can be seen from Table 13 below that about 11% (9 km) of PT network

is with high frequency routes and 37% (31 km) with moderate frequency routes.

Table 13: Distribution of routes based on headways

Sr.

No.

Headway

(min)

No. of

Routes

City Routes Suburban

Routes

Percentage

of total

routes (%)

Network

Length

(km)

% of

Network

1 < = 10 3 15, 16, 24 - 20% 9.3 20%

2 11 – 20 5 1, 2, 21, 22 14 33% 37.3 80%

3 21 – 30 4 6, 8, 10, 29 27%

4 >30 3 4, 10AC,

29AC

20%

Total 15 - 100% 46.6 100%

Source: Data from MBMTU February 2020, Compiled by CoE-UT, CRDF




Figure 13: Routes in Mira Bhayandar




City Routes

Sub Urban Routes




Figure 14: Route frequency distribution




2.2.6 Passenger Ridership

As per February 2020 data, the total passenger ridership is around 44000 per day. In comparison, in

Sept 2019 when the operations under the new contract started, around 24000 passengers were using the

bus services daily. With the addition of buses and routes, doubling of passenger ridership is observed.

The route wise ridership details are presented in Annexure 1 (Part A).

2.2.7 Operations Performance Assessment

2.2.7.1 Fleet Utilisation

Fleet utilization reflects the availability and deployment of roadworthy buses for route operations over a

period of a day, a week or any other defined period. FU may vary with the age of fleet, quality of

preventive and other repair activities, etc. The details for a week of February 2020 was analysed and it

was observed that average fleet utilisation is 86% for a week. For daily, it ranges from 83% to 91% in a

week. Average FU of 86% is below the satisfaction level against the average benchmark level of about

92% in other Indian cities.

2.2.7.2 Cancellation of Trips and Schedule Adherence

Service reliability measures like schedule adherence and trip cancellation analysis are critical from

passengers’ perspective. Irregular and unpredictable service frequencies make a bus service

inconvenient for users.

A one-week total schedule trips details and total operated trips details were provided for the month of

February 2nd week. It was observed that the daily trip cancellations were about 2% which is very good

in comparison to other Indian cities.

Taking a two-minute window (+/- 2min) trips were analysed based on departure times. It was observed

that there are 30% trips before time and 18% after time. Similarly, with five minute (+/- 5min) window,

15% trips are before time and 18% are after time. Overall, the schedule adherence was not observed to

be satisfactory

The planned and actual bus kms details were computed for February 2020. The operator is operating

about 98.6% of vehicle km of total scheduled km. The percentage of dead km is only 1% of total

operating km. The Vehicle Utilisation including dead km is 237 km per bus per day. The reason behind

high Vehicle Utilisation could be longer operating hours i.e. more than 22 hours in a day. There are

about 10% of trips from 12:00am to 6:00am. The operating VU is considered reasonably satisfactory,

considering benchmarked range of 200±10 kms per bus on road daily for urban bus services.

2.2.7.3 Load Factor

The load factor for the MBMTU bus service is around 0.39. It appears to be much lower than the

benchmarked range being 0.65-0.75 or about 0.70 as an average LF over the periods. This could be

because the bus services were recently initiated under the new contract, and bus routes, as well as

services, are being incrementally added and hence the demand build-up would happen gradually.




2.2.7.4 Indexed Passenger Km

Indexed Passenger Kilometer (IPK) is a performance indicator commonly used to evaluate the

operational productivity of a route. It is computed by dividing the total number of passengers served by

actual bus-kilometers run. Generally, an IPK greater than 4 passengers per bus km is considered as a

good level of performance.

Table 14: Indexed Passenger km by service type

Service Type Ridership (17th Feb

2020)

Operated

Vehicle Km

(17th Feb 2020)

IPK

City routes 27,267 6,335 4.30

Sub urban 16,576 7,585 2.19 Source: ETM February 2020, MBMTU

Table 14 above shows that city routes are performing better in terms of IPK of 4.3 whereas for sub

urban service is 2.2 which is quite low. However better IPK at city level could be because of low trip

length within the city. Further route level assessment was also done and presented in section below.

2.2.7.5 Vehicle Km Supply Distribution and Load Factor

The distribution of total vehicle km between peak and non-peak hours was also analysed. Ridership and

load factors are very low in the night services. The load factors during the morning and evening peak

hour is close to 0.5. Temporal distribution is presented in the Table 15 below to understand the demand

pattern.

Table 15: Distribution of total vehicle km between peak and non-peak hours

S. No. Peak Hour Category Ridership Veh. Km Pass. Km Load Factor

1 Night Service (00 to 06 am) 635 (1.4%) 775 (6.9%) 4658 (1.6%) 0.09

2 Morning Off-Peak (06 to 8:15am) 3644 (8.3%) 1179 (10.4%) 22322 (7.8%) 0.27

3 Morning Peak (8:15am to 11:15am) 9992 (22.8%) 2139 (18.9%) 70077 (24.4%) 0.47

4 Off-Peak (11:15am to 5:00pm) 13457 (30.7%) 3727 (32.9%) 92854 (32.3%) 0.36

5 Evening Peak (5:00pm to 8:00pm) 10161 (23.2%) 1816 (16.0%) 64843 (22.6%) 0.51

6 Evening Off-peak (8:00pm to 00) 5954 (13.6%) 1687 (15%) 32720 (11.4%) 0.28

Similarly, vehicle km distribution based on headways is shown in Table 16 below, it is observed that

more than 50% of vehicle km is beyond 20min which is not recommended for urban bus services. And

about 28% vehicle km is with moderate frequency i.e. 16-20 min.

Table 16: Distribution of total vehicle km by service headways

Sr.

No.

Headway

(min)

No of Trips Vehicle kms Total no

of Trips

Total Vehicle

kms City

Routes

Suburban

Routes City Routes

Suburban

Routes

1 <=10 46 5 355 (6%) 81 (1.5%) 51 436 (4%)

2 11-15 196 16 1282 (22%) 276 (5%) 212 1558 (14%)

3 16-20 507 39 2609 (44%) 532 (10%) 546 3141 (28%)




Sr.

No.

Headway

(min)

No of Trips Vehicle kms Total no

of Trips

Total Vehicle

kms City

Routes

Suburban

Routes City Routes

Suburban

Routes

4 21-30 129 63 1234 (21%) 922 (17%) 192 2156 (19%)

5 > 30 55 165 397 (7%) 3638 (67%) 220 4036 (35%)

Total 933 288 5878

(100%)

5448

(100%) 1221 11327 (100%)

2.2.7.6 Route Level Performance Assessment

System level operation performance has been presented in sections above, it is also important to see the

same at the routes level. Each route has been assessed for Load Factor (Capacity Utilisation), Vehicle

Utilisation, Index Passenger Km, Passenger per bus per day, which is presented in Table 17 below.

Vehicle utilisation for suburban routes is above 225 km while for urban routes, it ranges from 175-

200km. Higher vehicle utilisation is on account of longer service operations timings. In terms of

passengers per bus per day, most of the routes have more than 700 passengers per day which seems

satisfactory for a bus system that initiated operations 6 months before. However, a closer look at

average passenger trip length at route level indicated that about 66% passengers of city services have

their average trip length up to 3.5km, indicating low utilisation of the services.

Load factors for most of the routes are ranging from 0.3 to 0.4, which seem lower compared to the

standard of 0.7. It may seem that the service levels are higher in comparison to the current passenger

demand; however, it should be noted that the bus services have been initiated in August 2019. Over the

years in absence of a quality bus system, shared auto rickshaws had gained prominence with these

acting as proxy-PT services. In order to attract passengers on bus services now, it is important to

provide high frequency good quality services.

This approach has yielded results as the bus supply has been enhanced from Oct 2019 to Feb 2020 with

bus ridership increasing by 83%.




Table 17: Route level performance assessment

Route no. Length

(km)

On Road Fleet

- Dt 17th

Feb

2020

*Peak

Headway

(8:30am-

11:30am)

(min.)

*Off Peak

Headway

(11:30am-

5:00pm)

(min.)

Total Pax

Avg Pax.

Trip

Length

Veh. Km Vehicle

Utilisation

Load

Factor IPK Pax/Bus/Day

City Routes

1 14.2 5 20 48 4,812 7.2 1,684 337 0.29 2.86 962

2 10.3 5 14 33 4,462 6.8 1,306 261 0.33 3.42 892

15 4.1 3 10 31 3,604 2.2 524 175 0.22 6.87 1,201

16 3.2 3 8 31 3,802 2.6 511 170 0.28 7.44 1,267

21 3.1 3 14 40 2,217 2.8 595 198 0.15 3.73 739

22 4.4 3 13 40 1,719 2.8 650 217 0.11 2.65 573

24 5.7 6 10 24 6,651 3.5 1,066 178 0.31 6.24 1,109

Total City:

27,267

6,335

Sub Urban Routes

4 16.1 3 40 52 1,680 8.8 819 273 0.26 2.05 560

6 11.6 3 27 60 1,975 6.5 826 275 0.35 2.39 658

8* 9.7 2 30 0 173 6.4 474 237 0.03 0.36 87

10 34.5 7 23 98 4,752 14.3 1,808 258 0.54 2.63 679

10 AC 34.5 3 60 43 408 20.2 751 250 0.16 0.54 136

14 13.5 6 15 260 4,586 4.4 1,073 179 0.27 4.27 764

29 30.2 6 28 260 2,634 14.4 1,572 262 0.34 1.68 439

29 AC 30.2 1 70 195 368 19.6 262 262 0.39 1.40 368

Total Sub Urban:

16,576

7,585 7,585

Total

43,843

13,920

*Computed headways from schedule of routes February, 2020 (MBMTU).




2.2.8 Financial Performance

In terms of financial performance, the city bus services under MBMTU were not performing well.

Figure 15 and Table 18 below shows the overall yearly cost and revenue for city bus services from the

year 2016-17 to 2018-19. The revenue has increased marginally by 10% from year 2016-17 to 2018-19.

The operating ratio for all three years has been less than one and has declined from 0.65 to 0.55 in the

given years.

Figure 15: Revenue vs cost chart

Source: Financial Data from MBMTU

Table 18: Operating Ratio for last 3 years

Sr. No. Particulars 2016-17 2017-18 2018-19

In Lakh

1 Operating Revenue 1033.44 1086.48 1133.91

2 Operating Cost 1617.07 1897.47 2063.64

3 Operating Ratio (1/2) 0.64 0.57 0.55

Source: Financial Data from MBMTU

2.2.9 City Bus Demand

There was a total of 11 operational routes in Mira-Bhayandar in September 2019 and in absence of

ETM data of city bus services, a Boarding & Alighting Survey was carried out on 9 routes to

understand and assess the travel pattern. Two routes 10 and 29 had both regular buses as well as AC

buses operating: albeit with different fare structures.

To undertake this survey, for each of the routes stop listing was done. Based on these stop wise tickets

were prepared. These were handed out to each boarding passenger by the conductor during the ticket

issue. For the alighting passenger, this boarding stop tag was collected, and the alighting stop marked

on the same. The survey was carried out from September 26, 2019 to October 4, 2019 (excluding




weekends and public holidays). A total of 200 bus trips and 5530 passengers were captured in this

survey. Each of the routes was surveyed for around 6 hours in both directions. Taking into account the

peak periods in Mira-Bhayandar, the time slots were fixed as 06:00 hrs to 12:00 hrs and 16:00 hrs to

22:00 hrs for the survey. While the total ridership was available by routes, the sample survey was aimed

at collecting boarding and alighting stops of each bus passenger on the sampled routes. Table 19

presents the survey details of the routes surveyed.

Table 19: Boarding and Alighting Survey details-Mira Bhayandar

Sr

No

Rou

te

From To Trips covered during

survey (Bus 1)

Trips covered during

survey (Bus 2)

Trips

covere

d per

route

Up Down Up Down

Morning (6 A.M - 12 P.M)

1 21 Mira Road

Station

KD Empire 8 8 6 6 28

2 15 Mira Road

Station

Rashmi Complex 8 8 8 8 32

3 1 Bhayandar

Station (W)

Chimaji Appa

Chowk

3 3 3 3 12

4 2 Bhayandar

Station (W)

Uttan Naka 5 5 4 4 18

5 10 Bhayandar

Station (W)

Thane (Outside) 2 2 1 1 6

6 29 Mira Road

Station

Thane (Outside) 1 1 2 2 6

Evening (4 P.M - 10 P.M)

1 22 Mira Road

Station

Shanti Vidya

Nagari

6 6 5 5 22

2 16 Mira Road

Station

KD Empire 8 8 8 8 32

3 4 Bhayandar

Station (W)

Pagoda 2 2 2 2 8

4 6 Uttan Naka Manori Tar 4 4 4 4 16

5 24 Mira Road

Station

Western Park 5 5 5 5 20

The daily ridership was estimated as 23800 passengers per day. As per ETM data of February 2020,

there were 13 operational routes and the average daily ridership on bus services was about 43800, each

route ridership is presented in Table 20 below.

This section presents the route-wise assessment in terms of ridership, boarding alighting, line loading,

maximum line loading and the load factor. This also indicates major boarding/ alighting nodes within

routes. Line loading along with boarding alighting graphs for each route are presented in Annexure 2;

the system is a mixture of routes with few routes being undersupply and others being oversupplied.




Table 20: Route wise performance parameters details

Route

no. Dir Description

Route

Length

(km)

Avg. trip

Length

(km)

Headway

(min)

Total

B/A

Peak

Hour

Max_Pax

load Type of bus Load factor

1

U Bhayandar Station (W)-Chimaji Appa

Chowk 14.2

7.4

20

82 9 – 10 am 68 Standard 0.97

D Chimaji Appa Chowk-Bhayandar Station

(W) 7.3 117 6 - 7 am 105 Standard 1.50

2 U Bhayandar Station (W)-Uttan Naka

10.2 6.7

14 41 8 - 9 am 39 Standard 0.56

D Uttan Naka-Bhayandar Station (W) 7.1 62 6 - 7 am 49 Standard 0.70

4 U Bhayandar Station (W)-Pagoda

16.1 7.4

40 62 5 - 6 pm 54 Standard 0.77

D Pagoda-Bhayandar Station (W) 11.6 60 5 - 6 pm 49 Standard 0.70

6 U Uttan Naka-Manori Tar

11.6 5.5

27 57 7 - 8 pm 35 Midi bus 0.78

D Manori Tar-Uttan Naka 6.4 41 7 - 8 pm 36 Midi bus 0.80

8 U Uttan Naka to Gorai Tar

9.7 6.2

30 56 8 - 9 am 54 Midi bus 1.20

D Gorai Tar-Uttan Naka 6.1 43 6 – 7 pm 32 Midi bus 0.71

10

U Bhayandar Station (W)-Thane (Outside)

34.5

13.3

23

74 9 - 10 am 72 Standard 1.03

D Thane (Outside)-Bhayandar Station (W) 12.7 45 11 - 12

pm 30 Standard 0.43

10

(AC)

U Bhayandar Station (W)-Thane (Outside)

34.5

20.2

60

29 9 - 10 am 29 AC Standard 0.41

D Thane (Outside)-Bhayandar Station (W) 22.3 6 11 - 12

pm 6 AC Standard 0.09

14 U Uttan Naka to Gorai Tar

13.5 4.5

15 118 9 – 10 am 70 Standard 1.00

D Gorai Tar-Uttan Naka 4.3 150 7 – 8 pm 123 Standard 1.76

15 U Mira Road Station -Rashmi Complex

4.5 2.3

10 76

10 - 11

am 76 Standard 1.09

D Rashmi Complex-Mira Road Station 2.2 44 9 - 10 am 40 Standard 0.57

16 U Mira Road Station -Kd Empire

4.3 2.3

8 52 7 - 8 pm 49 Standard 0.70

D Kd Empire-Mira Road Station 2.5 47 6 - 7 pm 47 Standard 0.67

21 U Mira Road Station -Kd Empire 4.5 2.7 14 35 9 - 10 am 35 Standard 0.50




Route

no. Dir Description

Route

Length

(km)

Avg. trip

Length

(km)

Headway

(min)

Total

B/A

Peak

Hour

Max_Pax

load Type of bus Load factor

D Kd Empire-Mira Road Station 2.6 19 9 - 10 am 19 Standard 0.27

22 U Mira Road Station -Shanti Vidya Nagari

5 2.5

13 28 5 - 6 pm 26 Standard 0.37

D Shanti Vidya Nagari-Mira Road Station 2.3 17 7 - 8 pm 17 Standard 0.24

24 U Mira Road Station -Western Park

6.5 3.1

10 55 6 - 7 pm 50 Standard 0.71

D Western Park-Mira Road Station 3 51 6 - 7 pm 46 Standard 0.66

29

(AC)

U Mira Road Station -Thane (Outside)

27.7

21.1

28

15 9 - 10 am 15 AC Standard 0.21

D Thane (Outside)-Mira Road Station 23.2 7 11 - 12

pm 7 AC Standard 0.10

29

U Mira Road Station -Thane (Outside)

27.7

15.8

70

50 9 - 10 am 50 Standard 0.71

D Thane (Outside)-Mira Road Station 13.4 39 11 - 12

pm 33 Standard 0.47




2.2.9.1 Temporal City Bus Demand

The ridership variation (Figure 16) was compared for routes within MBMC and suburban routes using

ETM data for 13 routes. It can be seen that the profile is similar for both within city and suburban

services. The morning peak hour is extended from 8:30 am – 11:30 am while the evening peak hour is

from 17:00 – 20:00. The peak demand is observed to be around 10% of the daily demand.

Figure 16: Temporal variation of bus system demand

Source: ETM February 2020, MBMTU

2.2.9.2 Route wise Ridership

There has been an increase in ridership from September 2019 till February 2020 (refer Figure 17) as the

operational fleet has increased from 39 buses to 54 buses. Per bus per day ridership in September 2019

was 614 persons which increased to 812 persons in February 2020. Also, the operations began on route

no. 8 and route no. 14 which adds up to a total ridership of about 4800.

Figure 17: Ridership changes from September 2019 to February 2020 Source: BA Survey (Sept 2019); ETM Data (Feb 2020)




It was observed in a very short span of operations that increasing frequency has resulted in increasing

the ridership by 83.17%. Table 21 below shows route wise ridership with its frequency, ridership has

increased from September 2019 to February 2020 on almost all routes. The peak headways have been

improved from about 20min to 5-12 min on all routes which result in65.73% increase in daily vehicle

km travelled. For sub-urban routes also the service headways are all less than equal to 15 minutes

during peak hours going up to 30 minutes in the off-peak hours. Overall passenger demand elasticity

computed with respect to vehicle km is 1.27; while demand elasticity to service frequency is 1. It

should, however, be noted that higher elasticity values are seen due to the introduction of a new bus

system in the city. In such a situation it is expected that ridership buildup would be high in the initial

period. With an improvement in service levels till it reaches its full potential over its build up period of

1-2 years.




Table 21: Ridership and Frequency difference from Sep 2019 to Feb 2020

Type of

routes

Routes

No.

Sep-19 February 2020 (ETM)

%

ridership

change

%

change

in Veh

Km

Peak

headway

(Min)

Off peak

headway

(Min)

*Vehicle

Km - Sept

2019

Ridership -

BA survey Peak

headway

(Min)

Off peak

headway

(Min)

*Vehicle

Km - Feb

2020

Ridership-

ETM

(Sept 2019) (February

2020)

City

1 15 20 1,558 5,046 12 20 1,684 4,812 -5% 8%

2 20 20 1,050 2,571 8 20 1,306 4,462 74% 24%

15 20 20 432 1,819 10 20 524 3,604 98% 21%

16 20 20 413 3,784 9 15 511 3,802 0% 24%

21 20 20 210 1,016 7 20 595 2,217 118% 183%

22 25 25 230 1,011 10 20 650 1,719 70% 182%

24 20 20 684 3,755 5 12 1,066 6,651 77% 56%

Sub-total

4,578 19,002

6,335 27,267 43% 38%

Sub-

urban

4 45 55 543 993 15 15 819 1,680 69% 51%

6 25 30 830 1,436 15 30 826 1,975 38% 0%

8

- NA NA 474 173

10 30 30 1,127 1,528 15 30 2,559 5,160 238% 127%

14

- 8 15 751 4,586

29 30 45 1,127 977 12 30 1,834 3,002 207% 63%

Sub-total

3,627 4,934

7,263 16,576 236% 100%

Grand Total

8,205 23,936

13,598 43,843 83% 66%

*Operator, MBMTU

Source: BA Survey (Sept 2019); ETM Data (Feb 2020)




2.2.9.3 Public Transport Demand vs. Supply

The passenger flows on the network were compared against the bus flows to see how well the demand

matches the supply. From Figure 18 below it can be observed that on certain corridors the supply is

quite high w.r.t. demand which could be because of overlapping/ centralized route structure. Competing

IPT routes on these corridors could also be the reason for lesser demand on PT.

Figure 18: Bus supply vs demand analysis

2.2.10 Existing Intermediate Public Transport (IPT) System

The city has around 9000 auto rickshaws operating and in absence of a PT system, these have now

evolved as a proxy-PT service providing shared service on all the major corridors in the city. With new

bus services being initiated in the city, such IPT operations act as a competitor to buses. Instead, IPT

should ideally act as a feeder to PT services.

To understand the entire operational network of shared auto rickshaw in the city, a reconnaissance

survey was carried out to identify major nodes where these are parked from where these routes are

operated. It can be seen in the map below; shared auto route/ corridor is operating till Garoi which is

beyond MBMC. An on-board survey was carried out on autos from different nodes to identify the major

corridors and stops covered by them. A total of 24 routes were identified with a network length of 49.5

km and 30 major IPT stops (refer Figure 19). Based on this, the major nodes/stands of auto rickshaws

identified are listed below and shown in Table 22 below.




Figure 19: Shared auto rickshaw nodes and network

In terms of concentration of auto-rickshaws during the peak hours, the ten locations can be categorized

under two groups:

Table 22: Major auto rickshaw nodes within the city

High demand locations Moderate demand locations

Mira Road Station

Bhayandar Station

Golden Nest

Kashimira

Bhakti Vedanta

Hatkesh

Uttan

Shivar Garden

Maxus Mall

BP Road

For demand assessment on IPT, a sample survey of passengers at major nodes was carried out. During

the survey, auto passenger was asked the entire trip information such as origin point, auto boarding

stop, alighting stop, access and egress modes, cost of travel and time taken for each leg were collected.

A total of 700 passengers’ OD was asked as sample and were expanded using CVC counts at various

location. Total expanded IPT demand is around 2.9 lakh in a day which can be considered as potential

PT demand.




The fare levels for shared autos are shown in Table 23 below:

Table 23: Fare of Shared Autos

Sr no Shared Auto Rickshaw Route Fare (INR)

Minimum Maximum

1 From Mira Road Station (Stops - Hatkesh, Shivar Garden, Bhakti

Vedanta, Silver park, Kashimira)

10 20

2 From Bhayandar Station (Stops - BP Road, Golden Nest, Uttan

naka, Navghar Fata, Gorai)

10 30

Source: October 2019 Primary survey, CoE-UT CRDF

2.2.11 PT and IPT Demand in 2020

The daily average PT demand is about 44,000 for 15 operational routes from ETM data of Feb 2020.

ETM data has been processed as input into the model. Similarly, IPT OD data has also been added to

the model. Table 24 below shows the PT and IPT demand summary, where about 20% demand is city –

sub urban interaction and about 20% is sub urban – sub urban.




Table 24: Ridership Details

City Sub Urban

City Bus Demand

Internal 31470 (71.4%) 4246 (9.6%)

External 4246 (9.6%) 4112 (9.3%)

Total PT Ridership: 44,074

IPT Demand

City 288640 (98.3%) 3517 (1.2%)

Sub urban 1107 (0.4%) 316 (0.1%)

Total IPT Ridership: 2,93,580

Source: February 2020 ETM data MBMTU and Prmary Auto surveys October 2019

It can be observed that city has a total of about 3.5 lakhs daily trips which are on PT and IPT, of which

PT caters to about 12% of passengers. The income and vehicle ownership profiles of bus and auto users

also are very similar. Therefore, there seems to be a huge market opportunity for PT system if it can be

designed appropriately. The study thus considers both these demand for further analysis.

Figure 20 and Figure 21 below shows the passenger flows on the PT and IPT transit networks. It can be

seen that the auto passenger flows are significantly higher than the city bus flows. Kashimira road has

about 650 PPHPD for PT and 840 PPHPD near Mira road railway station, whereas IPT has 3600

PPHPD and 3000 PPHPD respectively which is significantly high compared to PT.

Figure 20: Base year PT (bus passenger) flows (2020)




Figure 21: Base year year IPT (shared auto passenger) flows (2020)

2.2.11.1 Demand Pattern

Figure 22 below shows the travel pattern of city bus users. It is observed that major trip interaction from

Mira Road station is towards the east of the railway line while from Bhayandar station is towards the

west of the railway line. Major interaction is from Mira road station to Hatkesh, Kashimira and Ramdev

nagar. And major interactions Bhayandar station is to Morva, Raigaon and Hatkesh.




Figure 22: Travel pattern of city bus users (Top 100 OD pairs and other OD pairs)

Similarly, Figure 23 below shows the travel pattern of IPT users. It is observed that the majority of trips

interaction is from Mira Road station and Bhayandar Railway Station. Trip interaction from Mira Road

station is very high towards the east of railway line while interaction from Bhayandar station is seen

more towards Jesal nagar, Navghar phata in the east and towards Maxus mall and Mira Hospital in the

west of Railway line. The interaction further intensifies from Golden nest to Kashimira Junction and

Kashigaon.




Figure 23: Travel pattern of IPT users (Top 100 OD pairs and other OD pairs)

It can be seen from the plots that IPT users have shorter trip distances than bus users. The average trip

length of IPT users is about 2.7 km while for bus users it is 6.0 km. These have been computed from

ETM demand, BA survey for IPT and stop to stop distance computed from model. It is observed that

about 72.5% of IPT users have trip length up to 3 km and 33% of total PT trips have trip length up to 3

km. The trip length frequency distribution for PT and IPT is presented in Figure 24 below.




Figure 24: Trip length frequency distribution – PT & IPT

2.2.11.2 Major Boarding Locations – PT and IPT

The major passenger boarding stops can be seen in Figure 25 below. It can be seen that more than 800

people board from Mira road station and about 400 passengers board from Bhayandar Railway Station

on daily basis.

Figure 25: Major boarding locations of Bus users

The major boarding bus stops in the city are:

0-1 1-2 2-3 3-4 4-5 5-6 6-7 7-8 8-9 9-10 10-11 11-12 >12

IPT Users 14.67% 27.83% 29.91% 12.73% 7.63% 3.21% 1.73% 0.05% 0.29% 0.05% 0.38% 0.32% 1.18%

PT Users 1.38% 7.68% 24.09% 14.92% 11.10% 7.72% 2.58% 2.10% 4.85% 6.56% 2.96% 3.38% 10.68%

0.00%

5.00%

10.00%

15.00%

20.00%

25.00%

30.00%

35.00%%

tri

ps

Trip Length Frequency Distribution of PT and IPT users




1. Mira Road station

2. Bhayandar Station

3. S K Stone Police station

4. Kashimira

5. Uttan Naka

The major boarding nodes for IPT users are presented in Figure 26 below. The major boarding nodes

for IPT users are Golden Nest with about 10500 boardings per hour and Bhayandar Station with about

2200 hourly boarding each followed by Mira Road station, S K Stone police station, Navghar Phata,

Maxus Mall and Unique Gardens.

Figure 26: Major total boarding locations of IPT users

2.2.11.3 Comparison of PT versus IPT network and demand

The passenger flows on the PT and IPT network is presented in Figure 27 below. It can be seen that the

network covered by shared autos are much higher than the PT network. Along with the coverage, the

easy availability of shared autos has led to auto passenger flows being significantly higher than the

passenger bus flows. Kashimira road has about 650 PPHPD for PT and 840 PPHPD near Mira road

railway station, whereas IPT has 3000 PPHPD and 2500 PPHPD respectively which is significantly

high compared to PT. The IPT passenger flows are about 1800 PPHPD in Bhayandar East where PT

routes are not available.

In terms of the demand patterns, it is observed that major bus trip interactions are from Mira Road

station towards east of railway line while from Bhayandar station interaction is towards the west of

railway line. Mira road station has passenger demand coming from Hatkesh, Kashimira and Ramdev

nagar, while for Bhayandar station interactions are with to Morva, Raigaon and Hatkesh areas. There

are no interactions in Bhayandar East as no bus routes currently operating in this area.




PT Network IPT Network

Demand Flows of PT users Demand Flows of IPT users




Demand Pattern of PT users Demand Pattern of IPT users

Figure 27: PT and IPT demand pattern in Mira Bhayandar




The major IPT trip interaction is from Mira Road station and Bhayandar Railway Station. Trip

interaction from Mira Road station is very high towards the east of railway line while interaction from

Bhayandar station is seen more towards Jesal nagar, Navghar phata in the east and towards Maxus mall

and Mira Hospital in the west of Railway line. The interaction further intensifies from Golden nest to

Kashimira Junction and Kashigaon.

2.2.12 Private Demand Patterns

Using the private vehicle survey (300 samples) at major parking locations conducted in Mira

Bhayandar, demand patterns for private vehicles was analysed. Based on the desire line diagram of

private vehicles, new areas to be connected can be identified.

Figure 28: Travel pattern of private vehicle (2W & 4W) users

The travel pattern as obtained from OD surveys of 2W and 4W users is presented in Figure 28 above.

The major nodes for 2W users are Mira Road Station, Bhayandar station, Golden Nest and Bhakti

Vedanta. The demand pattern is quite similar to the IPT demand pattern. For 4W users, Golden Nest

and Bhayandar Station are the major destinations in the city. The 4W also perform external trips to

other parts of Mumbai.

2.3 Observations

Following observations were made based on the analysis of existing city bus services, IPT demand and

private modes demand pattern within Mira Bhayandar.

Mira-Bhayandar is a small city in terms of its physical expanse and has a lot of commuting

population to Mumbai. The commuting population predominantly use rail services, As a result

of which PT is centralised with all the routes originating/ending at either Mira Road Railway




station, Bhayandar Railway station. Considering the city size, one-many route structure is

useful in providing direct connectivity to various places in the city.

City services covers about 82% developed area in the city, howeverhigh frequency network

covers only 48% of the city’s developed area.

The existing route structure completely neglects Bhayandar East area which is major

residential zone in the city

Almost 3.5 lakhs of daily trips in the city are performed either by IPT and PT mode. The share

of IPT is about 87%.

With improvement in bus service levels, facilitating a shift from IPT to PT could be possible.

Some of the reasons are:

o Average trip length of bus trips is 6km (city and suburban) on bus and 2.7km on IPT,

however, a closer look at the intra-city trips on buses show that 66% of these trips have

an average trip length below 3.5km. This shows that intra-city passengers with short

trip lengths have also shifted to city buses as service levels have improved.

o Significant fare difference (40%) between PT and IPT services – passengers who are

sensitive to cost are also likely to shift to buses, if the service availability improves.

In terms of fleet size, Mira Bhayandar would require about a total of 120-500 buses depending

on the Level of Service targeted. As per MoHUA Service Level Benchmarks, cities should

have a minimum of 0.1 buses as per LOS 3, 0.25 for LOS 2 and 0.4 as per LOS 1. Currently,

66 buses i.e. 0.07 buses per 1000 population, are owned by MBMTU.

Since the bus services have been recently reinitiated in the city, the demand builds up will take time.

However, over 3-4 months (Sept 19 – February 20) with the addition of fleet, improvements in area

coverage and frequencies have shown results and yielded almost 100% growth in passenger ridership.

During peak hours, the service frequencies for urban services should be in the range of 5-8 minutes to

attract passengers on-board. Hence, route planning for improving coverage and service planning of the

system in terms of headway and fleet is imperative.

2.4 Proposed Bus Network

The baseline analysis was useful to understand the existing bus network structures and the issues. It

helped identify the high demand corridors in the city and helped ascertain areas that are currently

uncovered by bus services. This section presents the proposed route rationalisation scenario(s). The

concept of route rationalisation and service plan works on the decision on whether the city should go for

a “Simple and direct network structures” or a set of “hierarchy of lines (trunk and feeder)” or ring and

radial. This is governed by the city structure, road network pattern, demand pattern and trip lengths. If

the trip lengths are short, say around 5-6 km, a trunk and feeder system may not work.

2.4.1 Future Network Scenarios

Based on the demand patterns, routes and service frequencies have been computed. For analysis, the

following scenarios are being considered:




Table 25: Scenario description Scenarios Description

Business As Usual

(BAU)

This scenario refers to the routes being operated by MBMTU currently. In addition,

there is a plan to add 6 more routes and hence this is being considered as the BAU

scenario.

Scenario 1: Alternative

proposal 1

A Bus Modernisation study was conducted in 2014 for MBMC which has been taken

as Scenario 1. This scenario includes minor changes in existing routes frequency and

few more additional routes proposed as per BAU approach, therefore overall route

structure remains nearly same.

Scenario 2: Alternative

Proposal 2

Based on demand analysis and centralized demand patterns, this study proposes

changes in the existing routes structures. Some of the considerations taken are

existing high demand routes/ corridors, overall city wide demand pattern, major origin

and destinations nodes, consolidation of routes to reduce overlapping.

Thus the proposed changes fall in two categories – modifications in existing routes

including changes frequencies and recommendations for new routes.

2.4.1.1 Business As Usual

Table 26 below shows the summary of existing 13 routes under operations and 5 additional routes to be

implemented (Figure 29). The alignment/ map of each existing and these additional routes are presented

in Annexure 3.

Table 26: BAU Routes 2020

Route

No.

EMME

Code

Route Description City /

Suburban

Routes

Length

(km)

Headway

(min)

Fleet deployment

Peak Off

Peak

MIDI Standard AC

Operational Routes

1 MB1 Bhayandar st.(W) to Chowk City 14.2 20 20 0 5 0

2 MB2 Bhayandar st.(W) to Uttan Naka City 10.3 14 14 0 5 0

15 MB15 Mira Road St.(E) to Rasmi

Comp.via. s.k.ston Bevaly park

cine max

City 4.1 10 10 0 4 0

16 MB16 Mira Road St.(E) to Laxmi Park

Tiwari College vai Cinemax

City 3.2 8 8 0 5 0

21 MB21 Mira Road Station [E] to

Ramdev Park Via Rasaz Theater

Bharati Park Shivar Garden

City 3.1 14 14 0 3 0

22 MB22 Mira Road Station [E] to Shanti

Vidhya Nagari Via Jain Mandir

Vijay Park Silver Park

City 4.4 13 13 0 4 0

24 MB24 Mira Road Station [E] to

Western Park

City 5.7 10 10 0 6 0

4 MB4 Bhayandar st.(W) to Essel World Sub 16.1 40 40 0 3 0

6 MB6 Uttan Naka to Manori Tar Sub 11.6 27 27 3 0 0

8 MB8 Uttan Naka to Gorai Tar Sub 9.7 30 30 2 0 0

10 MB10 Bhayandar st.(W) to Thane St. Sub 34.5 23 23 0 8 0




Route

No.

EMME

Code

Route Description City /

Suburban

Routes

Length

(km)

Headway

(min)

Fleet deployment

Peak Off

Peak

MIDI Standard AC

(E) Kopari) Via W.E.H

Majiwada

10

AC

MB10

AC

Bhayandar st.(W) to Thane St.

(E) Kopari) Via W.E.H

Majiwada

Sub 34.5 60 60 0 0 3

14 MB14 Bhayandar st.( E) to Magathane

Depo Via kashimira borivali St

(E)

Sub 13.5 15 15 0 8 0

29 MB29 Mira Road Station [E] to Thane

Kopari

Sub 30.2 28 28 0 5 0

29

AC

MB29

AC

Mira Road Station [E] to Thane

Kopari

Sub 30.2 70 70 0 0 2

Proposed/ additional Routes

5 MBN5 Bhayandar Station [W] to Maxus

Mall

City 5.9 13 13 1 1 0

20 MBN20 Bhayandar Station [W] to Morva City 5.5 20 20 0 2 0

23 MBN23 Bhayandar Station [E] Vai

Ghoddev Naka Indralok Mira

Road Station [E] Royal College

City 15 37 37 0 3 0

28 MBN28 Mira Road St. to Ideal Park City 2.2 15 15 0 2 0

3 MBN3 Bhayandar st.(W) to Manori Tar Sub 19.3 60 60 2 0 0

12 MBN12 Bhayandar st.( E) to Magathane

Depot Via Mira Road St.

Borivali St (E)

Sub 13.1 40 40 0 2 0

Total fleet size 79

Source: MBMTU




Figure 29: Additional routes to be implemented




2.4.1.2 Scenario 1: Alternative Proposal 1

In 2014, MBMC with consultancy support from UMTC has conducted a study on Bus Modernisation

Plan for the city which was focused on studying existing routes at that time and proposing routes

modifications, frequency improvement and proposing new routes. As per the report provided, the bus

routes were planned in such a way that it serves the highest quality service to potential users within a

given budget and were developed to meet the needs of the selected group of travellers. The basic

principle adopted for route rationalisation were:

Direct linkage between the user’s origin and destination with no transfers

At a time, convenient to the user

At a cost competitive with the automobile

To improve the overall bus service in MBMC, the route planning interventions were proposed under

three areas –

Improved headway of existing (Year 2014) routes to meet the required demand

Modification of existing bus routes – extension / curtailment of the routes of that time

Proposed new bus routes

Looking at the proposed route structure, it can be classified as partial route rationalisation as many of

them are kept same with improved frequency and few more new routes have been proposed. Figure 30

below shows the route structure proposed. It is observed that there is a significant overlap of the routes

on major corridors. There are 39 routes as mentioned in Table 27 below with some 4 routes extended, 1

route curtailed and 12 newly proposed routes. The frequency of about 90% of the routes have been

increased by changing their headways. The full plan was prepared for a total of 591 buses in the city.

However, the proposed fleet size is difficult to procure by the current assessment year i.e. FY 2023,

therefore, the fleet size is assumed about 190 as a gradual build-up of fleet for the assessment year by

reducing headway. Details of the routes as modified and proposed in the City Bus Route Rationalization

report by MBMC, is presented in Table 27 below.




Figure 30: Route Structure for Scenario 1

Source: Proposed by MBMC and UMTC in 2014, coded in model by CoE-UT, CRDF




Table 27: List of proposed routes by MBMC – Scenario 1

Sl.

No.

Route

No.

From- To Existing

Route

Length

(KM)

Existing

Headway

(min)

Modified/Proposed Route Proposed

Route

Length

(KM)

Proposed

Headway

(min) –

Peak hours

Proposed

Headway

(min) – Off

peak hours

Remarks Estimated

Fleet

1 1 Bhayandar st.(W)

to Chowk

14.2 30 - - 20 26 Headway

modification

6


to Uttan Naka

10.3 15 - - 20 26 Headway

modification

4


to Manori Tar

19.3 110 - - 40 52 Headway

modification

4


to Essel World

16.1 50 - - 20 26 Headway

modification

6

5 5 Bhayandar Station

[W] to Maxus

Mall

2.9 40 - - 20 26 Headway

modification

2

6 6 Uttan Naka to

Manori Tar Road

11.6 30 Uttan Chowk to Manori Tar via Uttan

Naka, Gorai Cross

15.3 20 26 Extension &

modified

headway

6

7 7 Bhayandar st.(E)

to Varsova Bridge

/ Kajpurpada

14.2 45 Bhayandar st.(E) to Varsova Bridge /

Kajpurpada via Ghoddev Naka,

Golden Nest, Shivar Garden, Silver

Park, Sanghvi Nagar, Shanti Vidya

Nagari, Raj Bucket Factory,

Ghodbandar Gaon, Western Hotel

11.4 20 26 Curtailment &

modified

headway

5


to Thane St. (E)

Kopari)

34.5 60 - - 30 39 Headway

modification

8

9 11 Bhayandar st.( E)

to Magathane

Depo

13.2 60 - - 20 26 Headway

modification

5


to Magathane

Depot

13.1 60 - - 20 26 Headway

modification

5




Sl.

No.

Route

No.

From- To Existing

Route

Length

(KM)

Existing

Headway

(min)


Route

Length

(KM)

Proposed

Headway

(min) –

Peak hours

Proposed

Headway

(min) – Off

peak hours

Remarks Estimated

Fleet

11 13 Versova Brige to

Magathane

Depo

12.7 60 - - 20 20 Headway

modification

5


to Magathane

Depot

13.5 20 - - 20 26 6

13 15 Mira Road St.(E)

to Rashmi

Complex.

3.3 7 Mira Road St.(E) to Ghodbandar

Gaon.via. Via Narayan Marble,

Bevarli Park, RBK School, Laxmi

Park, Mari Gold , Rashmi Complex,

Raj Bucket Factory

5 10 13 Extension &

modified

headway

5

14 16 Mira Road St.(E)

to Unique Park

3.4 20 - - 6 8 Headway

modification

7

15 17 Bhayandar st to

Western Park

8.6 90 - - 40 52 Headway

modification

2

16 18 Western Park to

Jogeshwari [West]

20.1 60 - - 20 26 Headway

modification

8


[E] to Penkarpada

8.8 40 - - 30 39 Headway

modification

3


[W] to Morva

5.5 25 - - 20 26 Headway

modification

3

19 21 Mira Road Station

[E] to Ramdev

Park

3.1 8 Mira Road Station [E] to Ghoddev

Naka Via Rasaz Theater Bharati Park

Shivar Garden, Ramdev Park


modified

headway

5

20 22 Mira Road Station

[E] to Shanti

Vidhya Nagari

4.4 11 Mira Road Station [E] to Ghodbandar

Gaon Via Jain Mandir, Vijay Park,

Silver Park, Shanti Vidhya Nagari


modified

headway

9


[E] to Mira Gaon

8.7 20 - - 15 20 Headway

modification

5

22 24 Mira Road Station 5.7 20 - - 20 26 3




Sl.

No.

Route

No.

From- To Existing

Route

Length

(KM)

Existing

Headway

(min)


Route

Length

(KM)

Proposed

Headway

(min) –

Peak hours

Proposed

Headway

(min) – Off

peak hours

Remarks Estimated

Fleet

[E] to Western

Park


[W] to Bhivandi

46.9 120 - - 60 78 Headway

modification

6

24 28 Mira road st. to

Ideal Park

2.9 20 - - 8 10 Headway

modification

5

25 29 Mira road (E) to

Thane Kopari

34.5 120 - - 60 78 Headway

modification

4


[W] to Shirsadh

Phata

36.5 90 - - 40 59 Headway

modification

7

27 33 Bhayandar st. (w)

to Ullasnagar

61.2 240 - - 90 117 Headway

modification

5

28 35 - - - Bhayandar Stn (W) to Borivali (W)

via Golden Nest, Nayanagar Rd, Mira

Rd (E), Ganesh temple, Check

Naka, Ketki Pada, St. Mary School,

Bhagvati Hospital

18 20 26 Proposed

Route

7

29 36 - - - Bhayandar Station (E) to Indralok via

Dp Road, Vimal Dairy

2 15 20 Proposed

Route

2

30 37 - - - Mira Road Stn (E) to Cinemax via

Poonam Garden

Road

3 15 20 Proposed

Route

2

31 38 - - - Bhayandar Stn (E) to Bhivandi (via

NH-8) via

Kashimira, Varsova Bridge,

Chincholi Phata, Dhamankar Naka,

Anand Dighe Chk, Bhivandi

bridge

51 40 26 Proposed

Route

9

32 39 - - - Mira Road Stn (E) to Thakur College 14 20 26 Proposed 6




Sl.

No.

Route

No.

From- To Existing

Route

Length

(KM)

Existing

Headway

(min)


Route

Length

(KM)

Proposed

Headway

(min) –

Peak hours

Proposed

Headway

(min) – Off

peak hours

Remarks Estimated

Fleet

(Borivali) Route

33 40 - - - Mira Rd (E) to Mulund (E) via

Ghodbunder Road

36 70 78 Proposed

Route

3

34 41 - - - Mira Road Stn (E) to Indralok via

Golden Nest

3 15 20 Proposed

Route

3

35 42 - - - Bhayandar Stn (W) to Chendani

Koliwada (Thane) via Golden Nest,

Kashimira, Varsova

Bridge,Majiwada, Court Naka

32 20 26 Proposed

Route

12

36 43 - - - Bhayandar Stn (E) to Bhayandar

Stn(E) via

Kharigaon, DP Road, Ghoddev Naka

(Circular Route), Navghar Naka,

Salasar

3 20 26 Proposed

Route

2

37 44 - - - Bhayandar Stn (W) to Mira Road Stn

(E) via Police

Stn, Golden Nest, SK Stone

7 20 26 Proposed

Route

3

38 45 - - - Penkarpada to Mangathane Depot via

Dahisar

Naka, Dahisar (E), Borivali (E)

6 40 52 Proposed

Route

1

39 46 - - - Bhyanader (W) to Mantralaya 48 240 117 Proposed

Route

1

Total Fleet Estimated – On road 190

Source: MBMC and UMTC, Bus Modernisation Plan for MBMC, 2014




2.4.1.3 Scenario 2: Alternative Proposal 2

This scenario is based on route planning principles along with the existing travel demand patterns.

2.4.1.3.1 Route Design and Planning Principles

1. Network Structure: This depends on city structure, in the ring radial city, arterial rings and

radial become trunk corridors and the rest becomes feeder. If the city follows grid iron pattern,

major arterial would become trunk and other become feeder to it. Mira Bhayandar is a small

city with the average trip length within the city of around 5-6 km on PT and the major nodes

are the two rail stations. Railway plays an important part in connecting Mira Bhayandar to the

suburban areas and rest of the Mumbai. It acts as a trunk PT line for the feeder bus services

with around 50% of bus users travelling to Mira Road railway station and Bhayandar railway

station. Therefore, the proposed bus routes have centralized route structures with some

additional complementary routes.

2. Coverage: The city bus network would attempt to cover the entire developed area, so that bus

services are available to the residents within easy reach (5 minutes of walking distance). This

would improve access to bus services and reduce out of vehicle time for users.

3. Frequency of services: Apart from ensuring area coverage, a certain minimum level of bus

services would have to be provided, so that people have travel opportunities even in areas

which have a low level of demand. A minimum frequency of 3-4 buses/hour would be

considered for any urban service. By looking at the demand, it may not be feasible for all the

routes to have high bus frequencies, but to attract people it is preferable to have 3-4 buses every

hour.

4. Apart from this, consolidation of routes along major demand corridors would be done so that

passengers get frequent and “simple to understand” bus services.

5. Network simplicity: Too many bus routes increase confusion for passengers and make it

difficult for new passengers / occasional users to understand. The network structure would

therefore be simple with direct connections between important areas of travel demand. The

routes would follow direct and short connections rather than trying to cover all market segments

on the way with detours, making journeys slow and uncomfortable.

Figure 31 below presents the conventional network planning approach which is similar to the existing

route structure versus the network planning approach that should be adopted for route planning




Conventional routes planning approach

• Numerous lines on one/ two corridors

• Direct services

• Forcefully travel through city center

• Few local travel opportunities in the suburbs

• Less frequent services except one/ two corridors

• Uneven intervals in radial corridors;

• Leading to convoying, bunching and over bus

supplied on one/ two corridors

• Leading towards more congestion around city

center/ terminals.

• Except for one or two locations, transfer for

passengers is very diffcicult.

• Bus traffic congestion in the CBD.

• Difficult for new/ occasional user to trace the bus

route.

Network planning approach

• Few lines but distributed across the city

• Direction based services

• Provides opportunity to travel directly with

one/ max two transfers

• Local travel opportunities in the suburbs

• High/ medium frequency services across the

city

• Leading towards uniform supply and met the

demand across the city.

• Decongest the city center/ existing terminals.

• No large city terminal in terms of number of

routes

• Transfer becomes mandatory which needs to

be taken care with high frequency services and

developing other infrastructure facilities.

Figure 31: Conventional routes planning vs. network planning approach

Transfers: Providing easy transfer opportunities for passengers wanting to use multiple services in a

single journey is important, though Mira Bhayandar with shorter trip length may not require taking

multiple services for most of the passengers. However, a quick and convenient transfer supports fast

journeys to dispersed destinations within a public transport network. The high-frequency bus services

will require minimal coordination with other routes.

2.4.1.3.2 Identification of High Demand Routes

The existing city routes with high demand levels were considered while developing proposed route

structures. Figure 32 and Figure 33 below show the high demand for PT and IPT routes in Mira

Bhayandar. The major demand corridors can be identified through these existing routes. It can be seen

that these PT routes do not connect most of the activity centers as listed in the previous section. The

area in the eastern part of Bhayandar is uncovered, also the residential areas like Unique gardens,




Ramdev Park etc. are not covered by PT routes. The high demand IPT routes connect to major activity

centers as mentioned in the above section.

Figure 32: High Demand PT Routes

Figure 33: High Demand IPT Routes




2.4.1.3.3 Proposed Bus Routes

Based on the principles outlined above, a total of 23 routes have been proposed considering the key

strategies as below:

Same as existing: The routes with high demand, have been kept as they are, not to disturb the

travel pattern of existing passengers.

Truncating existing routes: The routes marginally lower in demand, are truncated to reduce

overlapping to bring simplicity to the network

Extension: The routes which can be extended to increase coverage or to improve the

connectivity, have been extended.

Partial modification: Few routes may require modification to improve connectivity by

changing the existing alignment.

New routes: Providing connectivity to new areas to improve coverage and to promote mobility

on buses. These are mainly covering existing shared auto routes, which are currently not catered

by the bus system.

Examples of each of the above accepted strategy are presented in Figure 34 below:




Figure 34: Proposed feeder, complementary and sub urban routes

The proposed routes under each category presented above have been presented in Table 28 below along

with peak hour headways and fleet mix with size. It is estimated considering supply-based approach and

has been further analyzed in business plan approach considering service requirements and financial

implications. Figure 35 below present the proposed feeder routes from Bhayandar and Mira road

railway stations, new intra-city routes and sub urban routes. The alignment/ map of proposed each route

is presented in Annexure 4.




Feeder routes from Bhyandar railway station – 7 city routes

Feeder routes from Mira road railway station – 6 city routes




Complementary routes from Mira road railway station – 3 city routes

Proposed sub urban routes – 6 routes

Figure 35: Proposed feeder, complementary and sub urban routes

The list of proposed routes is presented in Table 28 below.




Table 28: Proposed routes

Route_

no

EMME_

code

Route

Description

Length

(km)

Route

type

Service

type Remarks Bus type

FY 2023 FY 2025 FY 2030

Off Peak

Hdw

(min)

Peak

Hdw

(min)

Fleet

Off

Peak

Hdw

(min)

Peak

Hdw

(min)

Fleet

Off

Peak

Hdw

(min)

Peak

Hdw

(min)

Fleet

1 MB1

Bhayandar

Railway Station

(W) - Chowk

16.81 Feeder City Same as

existing Standard 16 12 9 14 10 12 11 8 16

2 MB45

Bhayandar

Railway Station

(W) - BP Road

6.56 Feeder City New Route Midi 7 5 15 7 5 15 7 5 17

3 MB51

Bhayandar

Railway Station

(W) -

Shantinagar -

Kashimira


4 MB11

B P Road -

Ramdevnagar -

Kashimira

6.86 Comple

mentary City New Route Midi 16 12 6 14 10 8 11 8 11

5 MB47

Navghar Phata -

Bhayandar police

station (W)

7.34 Comple

mentary City

Modified

alignment

partially

Midi 16 12 7 14 10 9 10 7 14

6 MB12

Bhayandar

Railway Station

(E) - Mira Road

Railway Station -

Kashimira


7 MB32

Bhayandar

Railway Station

(E) - Golden

Nest - Kashimira

10.35 Feeder City Truncated Standard 7 5 15 4 3 26 4 3 29

8 MB5

Bhayandar

Railway Station

(W) - Kashimira

8.44 Feeder City Truncated Midi 20 15 5 20 15 5 16 12 6




Route_

no

EMME_

code

Route

Description

Length

(km)

Route

type

Service


FY 2023 FY 2025 FY 2030

Off Peak

Hdw

(min)

Peak

Hdw

(min)

Fleet

Off

Peak

Hdw

(min)

Peak

Hdw

(min)

Fleet

Off

Peak

Hdw

(min)

Peak

Hdw

(min)

Fleet

9 MB38

Mira Road

Railway Station -

Unique Garden

3.27 Feeder

Feeder City

Same as

existing Midi 14 10 4 11 8 5 8 6 8

10 MB37

Mira Road

Railway Station -

Oswal Garden

4.76 Feeder

Feeder City Truncated Midi 14 10 7 11 8 9 10 7 12

11 MB34

Mira Road

Railway Station -

Navghar Phata

6.09 Feeder

Feeder City New Route Midi 7 5 14 7 5 14 4 3 25

12 MB46

Bhayandar

Railway Station

(E) - Maxus Mall

- Uttan Naka

7.68 Feeder City

Modified

alignment

partially

Midi 7 5 14 7 5 14 7 5 15

13 MB36

Mira Road

Railway Station -

Ramdev park

4.15 Feeder

Feeder City

Same as

existing Midi 20 15 4 16 12 5 14 10 7

14 MB40

Mira Road

Railway Station -

Hatkesh

3.82 Feeder

Feeder City

Modified

alignment

partially

Midi 16 12 4 14 10 5 10 7 8

15 MB42

Bhakti Vedanta -

Mira Road

Railway Station -

Ramdev Park -

Navghar Phata

8.4 Comple

mentary City

Modified

alignment

partially

Midi 14 10 9 10 7 13 7 5 20

16 MB39

Mira Road

Railway Station -

Bhakti Vedanta -

Western park

6.1 Feeder

Feeder City

Modified

alignment

partially

Midi 16 12 6 14 10 7 11 8 10

17 MB6 Uttan Naka-

Manori Tar 20.47 Suburban Suburban

Same as

existing Standard 14 10 17 14 10 17 11 8 24




Route_

no

EMME_

code

Route

Description

Length

(km)

Route

type

Service


FY 2023 FY 2025 FY 2030

Off Peak

Hdw

(min)

Peak

Hdw

(min)

Fleet

Off

Peak

Hdw

(min)

Peak

Hdw

(min)

Fleet

Off

Peak

Hdw

(min)

Peak

Hdw

(min)

Fleet

18 MB30 Uttan Naka -

Essel Pagode 10.55 Suburban Suburban Truncated Standard 20 15 5 16 12 7 14 10 9

19 MB31

Bhayandar

Railway Station

(E) - Varsova

Bridge - Thane

29.83 Suburban Suburban

Modified

alignment

partially

Standard 16 12 18 14 10 22 11 8 31

20 MB33

Bhayandar

Railway Station

(E) - Mira Road

Railway Station -

Dahisar Check

Naka


Modified

alignment

partially

Midi 11 8 9 10 7 11 10 7 11

21 MB41

Bhayandar

Railway Station

(W) - Kashimira


Modified

alignment

partially

Standard 8 6 28 7 5 34 7 5 38

22 MB21

Mira Road

Railway Station -

Varsova Bridge -

Thane

28 Suburban Suburban

Modified

alignment

partially

Standard 11 8 23 10 7 27 7 5 41




2.5 Service Plan Output

Alternative scenarios were evaluated using supply indicators, demand-supply gap, transfer rate, and

Service Level Benchmark (SLB) criteria by MoUHA. The results/ outputs of the same are presented in

the Annexure 5. The detailed service plan output and process were also discussed with MBMTU. Below

are the outcome/ observation comparing three scenarios which state that Scenario 2 performs better with

a defined evaluation framework.

Not much difference in the network length and developed area coverage but 81% of bus stops

have high frequency routes (<=10min headways) compared to 65% in Scenario 1.

74% PT network with a high frequency of 10 min compared to only 15% in Scenario 1.

Reduced bus overlaps, routes have wider coverage and are distributed in different parts of the

city network

Given the small size of the city and short trip length, Scenario 2 offers more direct services

resulting in fewer transfer rates across all three scenarios.

Scores high in the extent of bus supply and average waiting time in the city.

The extent of supply from SLB indicator is at a moderate level, but the indicator value is better

than the other two scenarios




3 Bus Service Infrastructure Plan

The Mira Bhayandar bus system serves a total of 46.6 km in the study area which covers 23% of road

network with a total of 149 bus stops within the city. (Refer Figure 36 below)

Figure 36: PT network and bus stops (2020)

As per the proposed fleet deployment plan received from MBMTU, the proposed fleet size for 21

routes is 79. However, the fleet for operational 13 routes is 66 buses, hence the existing total fleet size

is considered 66. As per the MoHUA’s Service Level Benchmarks in Urban Transport, Mira

Bhayandar would require about a total of 120-500 buses depending on the Level of Service targeted

(refer section 2.2). As against this, the city has only 66 buses i.e. 0.07 buses per 1000 population.

3.1 Bus Stops

There are a total of 189 bus stops on a 46.6km network length. To improve the accessibility in the

city, 46 new stops have been proposed in the city with an average stop-stop distance taken as 350 –

400m. This means there will be a total of 235 bus stops in Mira Bhayandar (189 existing and 46

newly proposed). The bus stop locations as shown in Figure 37 below are tentative locations and the

numbers may vary by +/-20%. Final locations should be decided based on the following criteria after

site feasibility.

1. Availability of RoW: All locations on roads with 18m and above ROW were considered for

the development of a bus stop.




2. Adjacent Land use: Activities around each location were taken into consideration for

potential local demand and rationale of space availability.

3. Distance between stations: the distance between stations were planned to be between 300m

to 500m on the proposed PT network length over the built up area.

4. Stop accessibility: A complete development of bus stop area is recommended along with bus

stop including access to the bus stop

Figure 37: Existing and Proposed stops

The bus stops have been further classified as mentioned (Figure 38 below). Year wise stops with

number of bays are presented in Table 29 below.

One bay bus stop: One bay bus stop has been proposed within Mira Bhayandar on the low

demand corridors with likely bus frequencies less than 30 buses per hour.

Two bay bus stops: Two bay bus stop has been proposed on major roads where the bus

frequencies would be in the range of 30-60 buses per hour.

Three bay bus stops: Three bay bus stops have been proposed on major roads with high

concentration of routes and likely bus frequencies of more than 60 buses per hour.

Table 29: Number of bus stops and bays requirement No of Bays 2023 2025 2030

1 313 309 297

2 22 23 29

3 1 4 10




Figure 38: Stop locations by number of bays

3.2 Terminals

There are four terminals across the city, three out of which are located closer to the sub-urban rail

stations; Bhayandar West, Bhayandar East (not operational), Mira Road East and the fourth is located

in Uttan, a coastal town under MBMC jurisdiction.

Figure 39 below presents visual images of existing city bus services infrastructure facilities. It can be

seen that at Mira road railway station terminal, commuters have easy access to auto-rickshaws. Buses

do not have priority in the circulation plan and accessing buses would require commuters to walk a

long distance maneuvering the crowd to reach to the bus bays/station, which seems to be a big

deterrent.

At Bhayandar railway station, the terminal lacks segregation of different services. City and Regional

services are operating from the same bays and most of the pedestrian circulation space is encroached

by IPT services. This makes the entire experience of accessing stops and services onerous. The

condition of existing bus stops is also very unattractive to passengers and lacks proper PIS and

wayfinding facilities.




Figure 39: Existing Infrastructure Facilities

With the increasing bus fleet size of city bus system over next 10 years, improving bus terminal

facility ensuring the following points is important.

1. Ensuring integration between passengers, buses/operators as well as feeder modes such as

intermediate public transport (IPT).

2. Providing efficient access and egress to and from the terminal, for both passengers and buses.

3. Ensuring planned and streamlined traffic circulation, and provision of amenities for

passengers, rest areas, and other facilities for bus drivers.

Based on route planning following locations are identified as terminal points:

Table 30: Terminal Points

Sr. No. Terminal Points No of routes start/end

1 Mira Road Railway Station 8

2 Bhayandar Railway Station 9

3 Uttan Naka 2

4 Others 4

Total 27

3.3 Interchanges

Interchange is defined as people's place, place of waiting, and place of movement (access to access,

change mode and direction). An interchange station provides a safe, comfortable, and efficient

transfer of passengers within the same mode (different routes), or between different modes in a public

transport system, often without having to leave a station. Such stations usually have

more platforms than single route stations. These stations exist in either commercial centres or on the

city outskirts in residential areas. Cities typically plan for land use around interchange stations

for development.

The formal transit services in and Mira Bhayandar are: Railway lines, Regional Bus Services and City

Bus services and proposed Metro Rail. Following 29 interchanges (Table 31 and Figure 40) are

identified in Mira Bhayandar based on the proposed route structuring:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_transport

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_transport

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Railway_platform

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urban_planning




Table 31: Interchange types Level 1 Interchanges

Railway + Regional Bus + City Bus

1. Mira Road Railway Station

2. Bhayandar Railway Station

Metro Rail +Regional Bus + City Bus

3. Golden Nest

4. Kashimira/Kashi Police Station

Level 2 Interchanges

Metro Rail + City Bus

5. S.K Stone Police Station

6. Netaji Subhashchandra Bose Maidan

7. Deepak Hospital

8. Vijay Park

9. Mahavishnu Mandir

Regional Bus +City Bus

10. Varsova Bridge

Level 3 Interchanges

City Bus + City Bus

11. Gorai Chowk

12. Check Post

13. Shivneri

14. Bhayandar Police Station

15. Bombay Market

16. Navgarh Fata

17. Golden Nest Circle

18. Goddev Naka

19. Sheetal Garden

20. Indralok Phase 2

21. Shrishti Police Chowki Om Sangam

Plaza

22. Sadguru Complex

23. Golden Chemical

24. Woodland Hotel

25. Lakshmi Park

26. Miragoan- Road

27. Pleasant Park

28. Mangal Nagar

Figure 40: Proposed Interchange Locations




3.4 Depots

Bus depots are among the primary infrastructural requirements for any bus system and requires

special attention to be paid to the location, size and capacity of a depot. Depot facilities are important

considering maintenance and parking requirement for buses. The regular maintenance of fleet at depot

facility is important to ensure a longer life of urban buses. The design components of the depot would

include fuelling station, minor inspection pits, major inspection pits, washing area, and painting and

denting areas, spare parts storage, engineers’ cabin and administration unit as well as bus parking. It

also includes amenities like changing rooms, resting rooms, and other necessary facilities for the

depot crew (drivers, conductors, and office and workshop staff).

The location of a bus depot is a critical consideration in minimising dead kms. Major attributes to be

considered in selecting the site of a depot are:

1. Depot accessibility (for buses from the nearest terminal, and the staff),

2. Efficient utilization of space/land, equipment and manpower

Currently, MBMT has Ghodunder Depot which is recently constructed with workshop and control

centre facilities developed in it. It is located along the northeastern end of Mira Bhayandar with about

22755sq.m with facilities for repair, basic maintenance, washing and all repairs in the workshop. The

infrastructure includes bus repairing PITS, Washing Bus Bay, PITS for Under Washing Bus Bay,

Water Collection Tanks, Solar Panels, Starter & Alternator Testing Machine, Wheel Alignment

Machine, Fuel Injector Testing Machine, Floor Scrubbing Machine, Lathe Machine etc. The newly

constructed Ghobundar depot also has a control centre. Prior to this, the buses were parked on roads

closer to the rail stations, Bhayandar West and Mira Road East and Pleasant Park (park area as per the

DP on the eastern side of the city).

The existing Ghodbunder depot has about 45 standard buses capacity and as per the route

rationalization study conducted in 2014, has proposed one depot near Uttan with a total capacity of

120 standard buses with about 7.5acre of land.




4 Future Demand Assessment and Fleet Requirement

This section presents the business plan which includes operational strategy, financial strategy and

institutional strategy. The operational strategy outlines the service characteristics for operations, fare

structure, fleet type and size requirements. It also includes the bus operating model options. The

financial strategy presents the capital expenses, budgeting for revenue and expenditure and suggests

alternative sources for funding the bus operations. Organizational Strategy proposes changes that may

help in better management of the bus operations.

For the operational strategy, the key decisions are:

Fleet requirements

Depot and workshop requirements

Operating Model

Demand assessment is the first step for service design and operations strategy formulation which is

presented below:

4.1 Demand Assessment

4.1.1 User and non-users’ preferences

As outlined in Section 1.3.1, primary surveys of commuters in the city helped identify their

preferences for various bus service quality factors. The bus users indicate a preference for improved

service frequencies followed by improvement in travel times. In case of 3-W users, frequent services

along with safety, travel time and affordable fares are identified as important. Private mode users

indicate frequent services to minimize waiting times along with comfort and last-mile connectivity as

important. The survey output Table 32 presented below indicates that improvement in waiting time,

safety, and affordable fare, about 60% IPT users would shift from IPT to PT, and with additional

improvement in seat availability and last-mile connectivity, 20% of private vehicle users may shift on

PT.

Table 32 User and Non-user preferences

Modes No. of

samples

% willing to use

PT

Waiting time,

safety & fare

Travel time

savings

Seat avail. And

LMC

Auto 1352 80% 60% 75% 80%

Pvt modes

2W+4W 350 20% 0% 0% 20%

4.1.2 Previous Studies

A Comprehensive Mobility Plan (CMP) for Mira Bhayandar was prepared in 2013 for the horizon

year 2031. In 2014, a Bus Modernization Plan was prepared for the year 2035 focusing on bus service

improvements. Both these studies provide future mode share scenarios. Table 33 below shows the

mode share for the year 2031 as per the CMP study:




It can be seen that for the Do Minimum and Road Network Improvement Scenarios, the proposed PT

share is around 33%. The existing mode share of bus trips is 5% on account of inadequate levels of

service. Thus, expecting such a rapid increase from a mere 5% to 33% does not seem plausible in

such a short duration of time (10 years).

Table 33: Mode Shares 2031 as per CMP Scenario Private vehicle

share (%)

IPT Share

(%)

PT Share

(%)

Do Minimum 43% 21% 35%

Road network improvement 47% 20% 33%

PT improvement: MRTS, Efficient bus system,

transit infrastructure, fleet augmentation, Park &

Ride

33% 17% 50%

Road network + PT improvement 28% 14% 58%

The Bus Modernization Plan 2034 also presents the mode shares (Table 34) for the years 2029 and

2034. For the Pessimistic Scenario and Mode shift scenarios, 11% and 20% PT shares are proposed

for the year 2029.

Table 34: Mode shares as per Bus Modernization Plan Details 2014 2019 2024 2029 2034

Population 8,40,000 14,29,332 17,51,434 20,78,273 24,05,111

Motorised Trips / day 6,72,000 11,43,465 14,36,176 17,45,749 20,44,344

Pessimistic Scenario

Total Demand on PT 1,00,800 1,48,650 1,72,341 1,92,032 1,83,991

PT Share (in motorised) 15% 13% 12% 11% 9%

No of buses required (on

road)

118 179 228 263 286

Mode Shift Scenario – Considering 40% shift from IPT


PT Share (in motorised) 23% 21% 21% 20% 19%

No of buses required (on

road)

190 260 331 382 412


Bus Modernization Plan “Mode shift scenario” has estimated the overall bus share of 20% in 2029-30

considering 40% shift from IPT users.

4.2 Proposed Business Plan Scenarios 2030

The trajectory of vision realization and the timeline is a function of the agency’s intent and drive

along with constraints like financial resources and land availability for infrastructure facilities.

Scenario-based approach is hence adopted in this report, which can aid cities in deciding on an

appropriate strategy for instituting a quality bus service in the city.

Considering the existing bus service levels and bus ridership, CMP estimates of 33% mode share in

the year 2031 seems ambitious. Therefore, based on these two studies following mode share scenarios

(Table 35) are being considered for this study:

Table 35: Demand Scenarios and Bus Mode Share




Scenario 1

Business As Usual - Continuing

with the existing approach

Scenario 2

Efficient bus services for public

transport users

Scenario 3

Preferred mode of travel

for all residents

Year 2030 11% 20% 25%

The bus routes in Section 2.4.1.3 have been identified based on the existing situation analysis,

passenger demand patterns and area & population coverage. For the operational strategy, the key

decisions are:

Fleet requirements

Depot and workshop requirements

Operating Model

In order to decide on the above, we need to consider potential demand in 2030. This would be an aid

in system design in terms of service frequencies to be operated and the type of buses to be run. The

future demand scenarios are presented in the section above. For this analysis on the fleet

requirements, a moderate scenario (Scenario 2) has been considered.

4.3 Fleet requirements

4.3.1 Vehicle types and capacities

There are three different types of buses i.e. Standard, Midi and Mini, details mentioned in Table 36

below. Bus type for a city should be selected based on the passenger demand and the desired service

levels.

Table 36: Fleet type Fleet Type Floor Ht. Length Total Capacity

Standard 650mm 12m 70

Midi 400/650mm 9m 42

Mini 900mm 7m 22

Different bus types would have different carrying capacities which would influence service levels. As

shown in Table 37 below, a standard bus can offer 280 PPHPD at 15min headway, while a similar

demand served by midi and mini buses would require 10min and 5min headway operations.

Table 37: Capacities offered by fleet type and headways

Type of vehicle

Headways (min) -->

5 min 10 min 12 min 15 min 20 min

Standard Bus – 12mt.

(Capacity – 70 passenger) 840 420 350 280 210

Midi Bus – 9mt.

(Capacity – 42 passenger) 504 252 210 168 126

Minibus – 7mt. 264 132 110 88 66




(Capacity – 22 passenger)

In other words, if the service standard is to provide 5 min headways along a route to offer a good

service level, however the passenger demand on about 50% of routes are ranging between 250-300

PPHPD, Midi and midi-mini buses may ensure improved capacity utilisation than standard buses.

4.3.2 Fleet Size and Mix Selection Criteria

The route services proposed as per the service plan are further analysed in terms of the potential

demand to decide on the service headways as well as the fleet requirements. Following criteria have

been considered:

a. Service Headway Distribution: Service headway distribution is related to the average waiting

time at a stop for a passenger. Higher headways of routes imply more waiting time and thus

makes the system unattractive for passengers. The recommended headways for urban bus

services should be <=10 min i.e. average waiting time should not be >5min.

b. System Capacity Utilisation: The capacity of a system can be measured by calculating load

factor (dividing passenger km by seat km) of the system. The higher the load factor, the more

profitable the operation. Ideal system utilisation should be around 60% - 65%.

c. Buses per 1000 population: As per MOHUA’s Service Level Benchmarks in urban transport,

buses per 1000 population is one of the indicators to measure extent of service supply in the city.

Bus requirement is related to trip length and city size. Large size cities have large trip lengths;

hence the need for a bus fleet is higher to serve the same number of passengers in comparison

with smaller cities. Table 38 shows the benchmarking level for cities with <0.2 million

population.

Table 38: Buses per 1000 population by cities categories

Source: Service Level Benchmarking, MoHUA

d. Capital and Operations Cost: Fleet mix assessment has also been carried out in terms of

capital and operations cost including driver, fuel, maintenance.




4.3.3 Fleet Size and Mix Scenarios

Fleet size estimation can be undertaken based on peak passenger flow on the route segment or based

on the load factor method which considers passenger-km and ridership. Alternative fleet mix and size

options have been developed using these two methods. Scenario 2 with 20% mode share has been

adopted and assigned the demand on proposed routes in model EMME, as an output, it provides

ridership and passenger km for each route for future years.

Table 39: Fleet type scenarios

Approach Approach Description Existing fleet + Fleet Mix

Scenarios for New Fleet

PPHPD - Route wise

The max PPHPD for each route from future year

is used to derive the headway and fleet

requirement for each route.

1A All Standard buses

1B All Midi buses

Load Factor (LF)

Approach

FY2023 – 28%LF

(same as 2020)

FY2025 – 45%LF

FY2030 – 60%LF

Ridership and passenger km are used to

compute fleet requirements (Bus supply)

based on 28% LF in FY2023, 45%LF in

FY2025 and 60% LF in FY2030.

Existing LF in 2020 is 28%, therefore, the

same has been assumed for initial FY2023

and targeting day long 60% LF for FY2030.

2A All Standard buses

2B All Midi buses

3 Standard + Midi

4 Midi + Mini

5 Standard + Midi + Mini

For the two approaches – PPHPD and Load Factor, different fleet scenarios have been considered for

evaluation. The estimated demand based on Scenario 2, was assigned on proposed routes using the

model which gives the ridership on the proposed routes. The same has been used to estimate fleet

requirements.

As shown in Table 39 above, different types of vehicles and vehicle-mixes have been considered in

scenarios 1A to 5. The bus asset requirements over the next 5 and 10 years have been estimated by

also considering the number of the existing vehicles to be scrapped as the city has an existing fleet

procured over the last 5 years which would be operational for 8 years as mentioned in Table 40.

Table 40: Existing fleet procurement and scrapping plan

Years Total Standard

buses procured

Total Midi

buses procured

Scrapping –

Standard buses

Scrapping –

Midi buses

2015 18 10

2016 19 -

2017 - -

2018 11 -

2019 - -

2020 27 -

Total existing fleet in

2020 85 (75 Stand + 10 Midi)

2021 75 10

2022 75 10

2023 57 - 18 10

2024 38 - 19

2025 38 - -

2026 27 - 11

2027 27 - -




Years Total Standard

buses procured

Total Midi

buses procured

Scrapping –

Standard buses

Scrapping –

Midi buses

2028 - - 27

2029 - -

2030 - -

Taking into consideration the fleet to be replaced, and the demand estimation by routes, fleet

requirements by different scenarios were worked out. These are presented in Table 41 below. It

should be noted for the load factor approach, bus fleet estimation is based on a desirable load factor of

0.6 for the future year 2030. The detailed fleet requirement and fleet type for each route with its

proposed peak headways are presented in Annexure 6 for each scenario.

Table 41: Fleet requirement – by scenario

Scenario Years Mini Midi Standard Buses on

road LF

Buses/

1000 Pop

1A: PPHPD

approach - All

Standard Buses

2023 - - 113 113 0.17 0.08

2025 - - 294 294 0.16 0.20

2030 - - 675 675 0.15 0.39

1B: PPHPD approach

- All Midi Buses

2023 - 188 - 188 0.17 0.14

2025 - 479 - 479 0.16 0.33

2030 - 1120 - 1120 0.15 0.65

2A: LF approach -

All Standard Buses

2023 - - 72 72 0.27 0.05

2025 - - 106 106 0.43 0.07

2030 - - 165 165 0.60 0.10

2B: LF approach -

All Midi Buses

2023 - 116 - 116 0.28 0.09

2025 - 173 - 173 0.44 0.12

2030 - 276 - 276 0.60 0.16

3: LF approach -

Standard + Midi

Buses

2023 - 100 9 109 0.28 0.08

2025 - 149 14 163 0.45 0.11

2030 - 239 22 261 0.60 0.15

4: LF approach -

Midi + Mini Buses

2023 145 38 - 183 0.28 0.14

2025 134 102 - 236 0.45 0.16

2030 128 209 - 337 0.60 0.20

5: LF approach -

Standard + Midi +

Mini Buses

2023 83 56 9 148 0.28 0.11

2025 112 89 14 215 0.45 0.15

2030 129 173 22 324 0.60 0.19

For each of the scenarios buses per 1000 population is worked out and it can be seen that it is in the

range 0.15-0.2, indicating an improvement in service levels as per Service Level Benchmarks from

LOS 4 to LOS 3. Fleet requirement with PPHPD approach seems ambitious i.e. 675 and 1120 on road

buses, targeting these from existing fleet size 85 would not be reasonable. For the load factor

approach, fleet size ranging from 165 to 337 depending upon fleet type.

As presented in section 4.1.2, previous studies have estimated the requirement of 263 to 382 on road

standard buses for 11% and 20% PT share.




Table 42 below presents the procurement plan for the total fleet by bus type for each scenario, fleet

procurement plan has been prepared considering the existing fleet would serve till its full life and the

scrapping plan discussed above. Fleet utilisation is considered 95% for the first three years and 90%

for the rest of the years.




Table 42 Total fleet (on road + extra fleet) procurement plan – Fleet mix scenarios

Scenarios

1A 1B 2A 2B 3 4 5

PPHPD PPH

PD

LF 60%

(2030)

LF 60%

(2030) LF 60% (2030)

LF 60%

(2030) LF 60% (2030)

Standard Midi Standard Midi Standard Midi Midi Mini Standard Midi Mini

2023 106 176 35 53 4 45 33 20 3 27 20

2024 142 235 43 79 6 68 66 40 6 45 34

2025 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

2026 235 389 49 98 8 85 62 38 8 61 45

2027 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

2028 149 246 28 45 3 40 34 21 3 29 21

2029 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

2030 111 185 28 31 2 26 34 21 3 29 21

Buses by

type 743 1232 182 305 24 264 229 140 24 190 141

Total Buses 743 1232 182 305 288 369 355




5 Financial Analysis

The main objective of financial analysis is to assess operational viability and larger level

sustainability of the system. The plan includes estimates for operational expenditure and revenues of

services proposed for each year along with operational cost recovery levels which aid to form the

business strategies. It also aids to plan the sources of other funds and subsidies/grants.

This section presents the existing cost expenditure, capital cost investment, and future operational cost

estimates.

5.1 Cost Estimates

5.2 Existing Operation Expenditure

MBMTU was the operating system from 2015 to 2019. However, since September 2019 Bhagirathi

(private operator) is operating the buses. Table 43 below shows the expenditure for the last five years;

Table 43: Existing Operational Expenditure (In lakhs)

Sr.

No. Expenditure Details

2015 - 2016

(25th Oct

2015 to 31st

March

2016)

2016 -

2017

2017 -

2018

2018 -

2019

2019 -

2020 (1st

April 2019

to 31st

Jan 2020)

Total

Expense

1

Contract Staff

(Driver, Conductor,

Maintenance Inspector)

(Cleaning, Security &

others)

119.98 861.91 978.71 1,022.93 503.46 3,486.99

2 Viability Gap Funding

(VGF) - - - - 376.02 376.02

3 Buses Insurance Renewal

(Insurance) 22.14 44.87 55.61 62.01 53.03 237.66

4 Bus maintenance repair cost

(Maintenance) 2.60 72.68 173.37 155.36 175.04 579.05

5 Tyres Buying (Tyres) - 40.99 39.53 24.98 14.50 120.00

6 Fuel Cost (Diesel) 125.06 585.05 635.69 779.17 219.99 2,344.96

7

Other retail expenses/ RTO

taxes/ Stationary

Expenses/Bank Charges

(Other Charges)

2.03 11.56 14.57 19.19 55.36 102.71

Total Cost

(Bus operations) 271.81 1,617.06 1,897.48 2,063.64 1,397.40 7,247.39

5.3 Cost Estimation

Operations cost estimates presented below are conducted for all Non-AC buses for all fleet mix

scenarios presented in the section above.

Operations cost estimates in this section are presented for a single standard, midi and mini Non-AC

buses. As inquired with manufacturers, cost of Standard, Midi and Mini buses are mentioned in Table




44 below; which includes ITS inbuilt equipment such as GPS, Camera and onboard PIS system. As

part of the proposal, 100% Non-AC buses are proposed for new procurement.

Table 44: Bus type and price on road

Bus Size & Type AC Bus Non AC Bus

Standard 80 lakhs 75 lakhs

Midi 45 lakhs 40 lakhs

Mini 30 lakhs 25 lakhs

Some of the physical performance assumptions considered are mentioned in Table 45 below:

Life of the fleet is taken as 8 years

Fleet utilization is considered at 95% for the first three years of new purchased bus and 90%

for the rest of the life of the bus.

Fuel efficiency (mileage) and Annual Maintenance Contract (AMC) value per vehicle km is

taken after interviewing manufacturers and few sector experts.

o Operator 1: Hansa group of companies operate a total of about 450 midi (AC and Non

AC) and mini AC buses in Surat and Nagpur

o Operator 2: Aadinath Bulk Pvt. Ltd operates more than 150 standard and midi

(AC/NAC) buses in GSRTC (Gujarat State Transport Service), AMTS (Ahmedabad

Municipal Transport Service) and Sitilink (Surat).

Table 45: Operational Cost (at current price) per vehicle km by components

Cost

Components

Standard

Bus

Rs./ km

Midi Bus

Rs./ km

Mini Bus

Rs./ km Basis/Inputs/Assumptions

Fuel and

Lubricant cost

Rs.27.0

(2023)

Rs.30.6

(2030)

Rs.28.7

(2023-30)

Rs.14.7

(2023)

Rs.15.7

(2030)

Rs.15.2

(2023-30)

Rs.13.5

(2023)

Rs.14.3

(2030)

Rs.13.9

(2023-30)

Daily Vehicle Utilisation is taken as 230km, existing

average daily VU is 235km.

Diesel price is considered present price in Mira

Bhayandar i.e. Rs.79.8/lt.

Mileage for standard, midi and mini buses are 3.0, 5.5

and 6.0 kmpl for Non-AC respectively and mileage

deterioration is taken as 0.05 kmpl every year.*

Lubricant cost is assumed at 1.5% of total fuel cost.

Repair and

Maintenance

(R & M) cost

Rs.12.4

(2023)

Rs.19.3

(2030)

Rs.15.6

(2023-30)

Rs.10.2

(2023)

Rs.15.8

(2030)

Rs.12.8

(2023-30)

Rs.5.8

(2023)

Rs.9.1

(2030)

Rs.7.4

(2023-30)

Total R & M cost per km is taken Rs.12.4, Rs.10.2

and Rs.5.8 for Standard, Midi and Mini buses for first

year as part of AMC and the increase in maintenance

cost is considered about 6.5% annually as the age of

bus increases.*

Maintenance staff cost (Workshop) is considered as

part of AMC.

Intermediate distribution is assumed equally based on

the age of bus.

Insurance,

Motor vehicle

tax

Rs.2.4

(constant

from 2023-

30)

Rs.1.3

(constant

from

2023-30)

Rs.0.8

(constant

from

2023-30)

Insurance is assumed at 3% of procurement cost after

deducting depreciation cost from that at each year.

M V Tax for Mira Bhayandar is Rs.5308, Rs.3124

and Rs.1560 per year for standard, midi and mini

buses.

Staff cost

Rs.17.7

(constant

from 2023-

30)

Rs.17.7

(constant

from

2023-30)

Rs.17.7

(constant

from

2023-30)

Overall staff ratio is assumed at 5.5 staff per bus

considering 2.5 drivers, 2.5 conductors (0.5

conductors in case of conductorless mini buses) and

0.5 for HO, account and admin staff.




Cost

Components

Standard

Bus

Rs./ km

Midi Bus

Rs./ km

Mini Bus

Rs./ km Basis/Inputs/Assumptions

Rs.11.3

(constant

from

2023-30

in case of

w/o

conductor

Mini

buses)

There is a possibility to operate conductor-less buses

Mini buses. Mini buses have total carrying capacity of

22 and half of its generally board from first stop

where the conductor at bus stop can give tickets to

passengers at bus stops and for intermediate

passenger driver can give the tickets. In that case, 0.5

conductors can be considering optimizing the man-

power cost.

In absence of existing cost details available, the

average Cost to Company (CTC) is considered about

Rs.2.7 lakhs per annum based on operator’s

consultation in Mumbai.

ITMS

Operation cost

Rs.1.04

(constant

from 2023-

30)

Rs.1.04

(constant

from

2023-30)

Rs.1.04

(constant

from

2023-30)

In absence of fully operational ITMS facilities in

Mira Bhayandar, the ITMS cost has been adopted

from the tender allotted for ITMS, i.e. 90lakhs for

man power cost for operating ITMS;

Communication cost is assumed at Rs.3600 per bus

per year.

Cost of

depreciation

Rs.11.2

(constant

from 2023-

30)

Rs.11.2

(constant

from

2023-30)

Rs.11.2

(constant

from

2023-30)

Life of the bus is considered of 8 years, the total

depreciation cost is estimated with straight line

method.

Cost of fund

Rs.10.8

(2023)

Rs.2.7

(2030)

Rs.5.7

(2023-30)

Rs.5.7

(2023)

Rs.1.4

(2030)

Rs.3.0

(2023-30)

Rs.3.6

(2023)

Rs.0.9

(2030)

Rs.1.90

(2023-30)

The current operating contract is Net Cost Contract

however it has been seen nationally as well as

internationally recognised that Gross Cost Contract or

Gross Cost Hybrid Contract suits best for any city bus

services. In GCC, buses are generally procured by

operator where cost of fund in terms of rate of interest

on borrowed fund and rate of return on own fund

needs to be consider in operations.

Debt Equity ratio assumed at 75:25

Rate of return on own fund and interest rate on

borrowed fund, both are assumed at 12%.

Repayment period for borrowed fund is taken as 5

years.

Miscellaneous

cost

Rs.4.1

(2023)

Rs.4.2

(2030)

Rs.4.12

(2023-30)

Rs.2.8

(2023)

Rs.2.95

(2030)

Rs.2.85

(2023-30)

Rs.2.3

(2023)

Rs.2.4

(2030)

Rs.2.32

(2023-30)

Miscellaneous cost is assumed at 5% of the total

operating cost.

* Cost estimates are in consultation with bus operators in Surat, Ahmedabad and Nagpur

5.3.1 Lifecycle cost for different bus types

Cost of operations is estimated at current prices for different bus types to understand the difference in

the lifecycle cost of a single-vehicle. Figure 41 below shows the life cycle cost per km (by

component) for Standard, Midi, Mini and Mini without conductor buses.




Figure 41: Life cycle cost in Rs/km (at current prices) for one sample bus type

5.3.2 Cost estimates for fleet mix scenarios

The total operational costs have been estimated for future years for all fleet mix scenarios. Entire cost

estimation is done based on constant prices taking 2020 cost as the base which is escalated using WPI

factors and labour commission rates for man-power costs.

The bus costs are escalated at 4.00%1 annum for manpower related cost based on historical labour

commission wage scale rise whereas fuel-lubricant and other cost components are escalated with

2.53%2 historical WPI rise. Generally, interest, depreciation and insurance are at a fixed rate, however

new fleet is added incrementally in a phased manner which changes the overall cost of depreciation

and cost of fund. Table 46 below presents the total operational cost for eight years which also includes

the cost of fund and cost of depreciation as presented in the section above. The operational costs are

varying as the fleet requirement for each scenario is different.

The cost of depot is not a part of operational cost but it cannot be looked separately as well. Depot

requirement essentially depends on fleet size and its type therefore the cost of depots becomes

important to see along with the total cost estimates for each fleet mix and type scenario. Details

related to depots are also presented in the section below in Business Plan Scenarios. Figure 42 below

presents the comprehensive cost assessment for FY2023 to FY2030 with all components associated

with fleet mix scenarios.

1 Labour commissionaire office, The state of Maharashtra




Table 46: Total Operational Cost Estimates comparison (2023-2030)

Scenario -->

1A 1B 2A 2B 3 4 5

PPHPD - All

Standard

PPHPD - All

Midi

LF 60% (2030)

All Standard

LF 60% (2030)

All Midi

LF 60% (2030)

Standard + Midi

LF 60% (2030)

Midi + Mini

LF 60% (2030)

Standard + Midi +

Mini

Fleet requirement and cost estimates

Total Standard buses 743 182 24 24

Total Midi buses 1232 305 264 229 190

Total Mini buses 140 141

Total number of buses 743 1232 182 305 288 369 355

Fleet Cost 591 523 143 128 130 133 137

Total Operational Cost (Life

Cycle Cost) (2023 to 2030) 3250 3725 942 1111 1095 1196 1172

CPKM (Rs./km) (2023-2030) 113 79 110 80 83 75 78

Cost/Pax Km - 60% 2.68 3.02 2.61 2.88 2.85 3.18 3.16

Depot requirement and cost estimates

Area for additional Depots (sq. m) 34.63 46.78 6.58 9.69 9.27 11.21 11.02

No of additional Depots 7.00 9.50 1.50 2.00 2.00 2.00 2.00

Depot Cost with land 355 480 67 99 95 115 113

Total Cost (TCO + Depots) 3606 4205 1010 1211 1190 1311 1285

All costs are at constant price in INR (in crore)




Scenario 1A: - PPHPD - All Standard

Scenario 1B: - PPHPD - All Midi

27.93 27.46 27.93 27.93 28.42 28.42 28.93 28.93

14.10 13.24 14.10 14.10 15.02 15.02 16.00 16.00

1.63 2.12 2.12 2.29 2.29 2.41 2.41 2.41

18.87 18.68 18.68 19.46 19.46 19.46 19.46 19.46

0.75 0.44 0.44 0.28 0.28 0.23 0.23 0.21 7.42 9.76 9.76 10.59 10.59 11.17 11.17 11.17 7.12 8.77 7.36

8.17 6.65 6.66 5.33 5.33 3.89 4.02 4.02

4.14 4.14 4.17 4.18 4.18

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

800

-

10.00

20.00

30.00

40.00

50.00

60.00

70.00

80.00

90.00

100.00

Nu

mb

er

of

Bu

ses

Op

ex+

Cap

ex

/ V

eh

Km

Miscellaneus Cost

Cost of Fund - (Expectedreturns and Intrests)

Cost of Depreciation -Total

ITMS Operating Cost

Staff Cost

Insurance + MVT +MACT + RR Tax

R & M Cost

Fuel Cost

Total No of Buses

18.16 16.03 16.20 15.48 15.63 15.14 15.28 15.28

11.79 11.35 12.09 11.77 12.54 12.31 13.11 13.11

1.01 1.19 1.19 1.25 1.25 1.29 1.29 1.29

18.78 18.64 18.64 19.46 19.46 19.46 19.46 19.46

0.54 0.30 0.30 0.19 0.19 0.16 0.16 0.14

4.57 5.48 5.48 5.77 5.77 5.96 5.96 5.96

4.39 4.92 4.13 4.45 3.62 3.55 2.84 2.84

2.96 2.90 2.90 2.92 2.92 2.89 2.91 2.90

0

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

1400

-

10.00

20.00

30.00

40.00

50.00

60.00

70.00

Nu

mb

er

of

Bu

ses

Op

ex+

Cap

ex

/ V

eh

Km

Miscellaneus Cost



ITMS Operating Cost

Staff Cost


R & M Cost

Fuel Cost

Total No of Buses




Scenario 2A: - LF 60% - All Standard

Scenario 2B: - LF 60% - All Midi

28.42 27.93 28.42 28.42 28.93 28.42 28.93 29.45

15.02 14.10 15.02 15.02 16.00 15.02 16.00 17.03

0.99 1.67 1.67 2.01 2.01 2.41 2.41 2.41

19.11 18.85 18.85 19.46 19.46 19.46 19.46 19.46

1.32 1.04 1.04 0.82 0.82 0.81 0.81 0.70 4.39 7.65 7.65 9.24 9.24 11.17 11.17 11.17 4.21

6.85 5.75 6.78 5.45 6.00 4.77 5.03

3.67

3.91 3.92 4.09 4.09 4.16 4.18

4.26

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

160

180

200

-

10.00

20.00

30.00

40.00

50.00

60.00

70.00

80.00

90.00

100.00

Nu

mb

er

of

Bu

ses

Op

ex+

Cap

ex

/ V

eh

Km

Miscellaneus Cost



ITMS Operating Cost

Staff Cost


R & M Cost

Fuel Cost

Total No of Buses

22.16 17.98 18.21 16.55 16.74 15.14 15.28 15.43

13.65

12.18 12.97 12.24 13.04

12.31 13.11 13.97

0.67

1.03 1.03 1.17 1.17

1.29 1.29 1.29

19.02

18.76 18.76 19.46 19.46

19.46 19.46 19.46

1.11

0.72 0.72 0.51 0.51

0.48 0.48 0.43

2.95

4.68 4.68 5.34 5.34

5.96 5.96 5.96

2.83

4.23 3.55 4.02 3.25 3.25 2.57 2.50

3.12 2.98 3.00 2.96 2.97

2.89 2.91 2.95

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

-

10.00

20.00

30.00

40.00

50.00

60.00

70.00N

um

be

r o

f B

use

s

Op

ex+

Cap

ex

/ V

eh

Km

Miscellaneus Cost



ITMS Operating Cost

Staff Cost


R & M Cost

Fuel Cost

Total No of Buses




Scenario 3: - LF 60% - Standard + Midi

Scenario 4: - LF 60% Midi + Mini

22.99 18.93 19.18 17.68 17.90 16.27 16.44 16.61

14.03

12.34 13.15 12.58 13.39

12.54 13.36 14.22

0.70

1.09 1.09 1.25 1.25

1.39 1.39 1.39

19.03

18.77 18.77 19.46 19.46

19.46 19.46 19.46

1.14

0.75 0.75 0.53 0.53 0.50 0.50 0.46

3.07

4.97 4.97 5.71 5.71 6.40 6.40 6.39

2.95 4.48 3.77 4.30 3.48

3.50 2.76 2.68

3.20 3.07 3.08 3.08 3.09

3.00 3.01 3.06

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

-

10.00

20.00

30.00

40.00

50.00

60.00

70.00

80.00

Nu

mb

er

of

Bu

ses

Op

ex+

Cap

ex

/ V

eh

Km

Miscellaneus Cost



ITMS Operating Cost

Staff Cost


R & M Cost

Fuel Cost

Total No of Buses

21.93 17.16 17.36 15.95 16.12 14.65 14.78 14.92

12.83

10.57 11.25 10.48 11.16

10.32 11.00 11.71

0.58

0.92 0.92 1.01 1.01

1.11 1.11 1.11

19.02

18.74 18.74 19.46 19.46

19.46 19.46 19.46

1.11

0.62 0.62 0.46 0.46

0.42 0.42 0.37

2.53

4.17 4.17 4.64 4.64 5.11 5.11 5.11

2.43

3.81 3.21 3.45 2.78 2.78 2.18 2.29

3.02

2.80 2.81 2.77 2.78 2.69 2.70 2.75

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

400

-

10.00

20.00

30.00

40.00

50.00

60.00

70.00

Nu

mb

er

of

Bu

ses

Op

ex+

Cap

ex

/ V

eh

Km

Miscellaneus Cost



ITMS Operating Cost

Staff Cost


R & M Cost

Fuel Cost

Total No of Buses




Scenario 5: - LF 60% - Standard + Midi + Mini

Figure 42: Total cost of ownership by cost components at constant price

5.4 Revenue Estimation

Financial analysis can only be complete once the revenue is estimated and compared with the relevant

cost estimates and is linked to demand estimation (Table 47).

5.4.1 Demand Estimation for fleet mix scenarios

As presented in the Demand Assessment section; users’ perception survey outcomes suggest wait

time, fare and safety as the highest weighing variables for PT users, therefore it is important to see the

average wait time offer in different fleet mix scenarios as the fleet size is varying. In the case of Mira

Bhayandar, the IPT acts as proxy PT where the average waiting time is nearly nil at railway stations,

therefore it is crucial to minimize the waiting time along with a proposal of affordable fare to attract

shift from IPT.

Fleet estimation was conducted at route level based approach and criteria explained in the fleet

requirement section, therefore fleet requirement is different for each route which results into different

headways in each fleet mix scenario. Figure 43 below presents the headway distribution for all

proposed 22 routes based on its estimated fleet size for each route.

22.52 18.18 18.41 16.85 17.04 15.54 15.70 15.85

13.09

10.76 11.46 10.67 11.36

10.42 11.10 11.82

0.60

0.94 0.94 1.07 1.07

1.18 1.18 1.17

19.03

18.76 18.76 19.46 19.46

19.46 19.46 19.46

1.13

0.70 0.70 0.47 0.47

0.44 0.44 0.38

2.62

4.30 4.30 4.92 4.92

5.43 5.43 5.43

2.51

3.90 3.28 3.77 3.06 3.05 2.40 2.46

3.08

2.88 2.89 2.86 2.87 2.78 2.79 2.83

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

400

-

10.00

20.00

30.00

40.00

50.00

60.00

70.00

Nu

mb

er

of

Bu

ses

Op

ex+

Cap

ex

/ V

eh

Km

Miscellaneus Cost



ITMS Operating Cost

Staff Cost


R & M Cost

Fuel Cost

Total No of Buses




Table 47: Demand estimation for fleet mix scenarios

Scenario -->

1A 1B 2A 2B 3 4 5

PPHPD -

All

Standard

PPHPD -

All Midi

LF 60%

(2030) All

Standard

LF 60%

(2030) All

Midi

LF 60%

(2030)

Stand +

Midi

LF 60%

(2030)

Midi +

Mini

LF 60%

(2030)

Standard

+ Midi +

Mini

Total number of

buses 743 1232 182 305 288 369 355

Average wait

time (in min.) 2.0 1.2 7.0 4.5 4.7 3.4 3.6

Expected % PT

share (approx.) 23%-25% 23%-25% 8%-12% 13%-15% 13%-15% 18%-20% 18%-20%

Approx. daily

pax in 2030 (in

lakhs)

3.7 3.7 1.3 2.3 2.3 3.0 3.0

Figure 43: Frequency distribution for proposed routes/ services

It is obvious where the headways are longer, the average wait time would be high. The existing

average wait time is 9.5min as per 2020 routes frequency, all presented fleet mix scenarios are better

compared to existing however it becomes important to understand the tradeoff between fleet size and

headways which essentially impacts the passenger demand.

5.4.2 Fare structure

Designing an optimal fare structure should be undertaken such that it is affordable, and enables access

to different user groups to the system. While on one hand, fare structures influence total revenue, on

the other hand, it also has a critical role in attracting passengers on-board.

Fare structure and revisions influence system usage and fare-box revenue. Table 48 below shows the

previous fare in 2016 and the current fare implemented for AC and Non AC services;

Table 48: Existing fare structure and previous fare revision

Distance kms Fare (2016) NAC Present Fare

(NAC) - 2020

Present AC Fare -

2020

Percentage of Fare

increase (NAC)

0-2 5 6 20 20.00%

2-4 6 8 30 33.33%

4-6 8 11 35 37.50%

6-8 9 13 40 44.44%

8-10 10 15 40 50.00%

10-12 11 17 50 54.55%




Distance kms Fare (2016) NAC Present Fare

(NAC) - 2020

Present AC Fare -

2020

Percentage of Fare

increase (NAC)

12-14 12 18 50 50.00%

14-16 13 19 55 46.15%

16-18 14 20 60 42.86%

18-20 15 21 60 40.00%

20-22 16 22 70 37.50%

22-24 18 23 70 27.78%

24-26 19 24 75 26.32%

26-28 20 25 80 25.00%

28-30 21 26 80 23.81%

30-32 22 28 90 27.27%

32-34 23 29 90 26.09%

The minimum fare was changed from Rs.5 (2016) to Rs.6 (2020) in case of NAC services and the

maximum fare changed from Rs.23 to Rs.26 i.e. about 20% to 50% change across the various stages.

AC fare is significantly higher than NAC services and also high compared to the proposed Metro fare

structure. The ridership proportion of AC services is only about 1%, there are only two services going

towards Thane having AC buses.

5.4.3 Fare Proposal

Fare structure revision is one of the business strategies to attract more passengers and retain them on

board. Though existing bus fare is lower compared to IPT, there is an opportunity to make it more

simple, affordable and attractive against other competing modes.

5.4.3.1 Principles for fare revision

Following principles are considered for the fare proposal:

1. Protecting Affordability: About 70% of IPT users and 80% of PT users do not own any

motorised vehicles as per primary surveys conducted in Oct 2019. Average HH income in the

city is estimated to be Rs.30000/- and the average expenditure of transport is about 6% as per

CMP. Considering these facts average affordability derives at Rs.13 per trip per person. This

needs to be taken care while proposing the fare revision.

2. Ensuring System Sustainability: The fare levels should aim to recover the cost of the

operation of the transit system to the extent possible. Therefore, it is important to see Revenue

per Pass. Km at various options of fare structure to compare it with Cost per passenger-km at

day long Load Factor. Involving private operators in operations would reduce the load on cost

part but at the same time, it is recommended to remunerate them well and in a timely manner. It

is also recommended to revise this propose fare every two years to be able to sustain the system

at larger level.

3. Competitiveness with other modes: Fare structure influences mode change decisions of

commuters. It should be competitive with other modes of transport. The principle of

interconnectedness with Affordability applies here. Fares should not exceed the nearest

competing transportation system i.e. IPT and 2Wh, meaning the system which offers similar

benefits in terms of time, comfort level etc. At the same time fares should not be very low or

they could impact sustainability. Low fare structure should not affect the quality of services of




the transportation system. Inferior service level would discourage the class of commuters who

appreciate time saving and comfortable journey.

4. Ridership augmentation: A fare proposal must have the flexibility to attract riders not only

through affordable fares but also through “smart” use of its capacity. The PT authority should

therefore be able to offer special discounts and schemes to attract ridership. Currently in Mira

Bhayandar, as per ETM details received about 8-10% of passengers are travelling with

concession benefits, and about 3-4% of passenger travel with discount benefits.

5.4.3.2 Suggested Fare Options

Based on above principles, a few fare options are presented below; it is also important to see the fare

levels in other cities in the state of Maharashtra. Mumbai BEST along with Pune fare structure have

been compared with the existing fare structure of the city. Along with other cities fare structure, the

fare of IPT and cost of two-wheeler has also been compiled.

Table 49: Suggested fare options

Distance

Range

2016

MBMT

U Fare

Existing

MBMTU

Fare

Delhi

(DTC)

(2020)

PMPLU

(Pune)

Fare

(2020)

Existing

BEST

(Mumbai)

Fare Option

1

Fare

Option 2

(Similar

to Pune)

Existing

IPT

Fare

2Wh

Cost

(Rs.)

0-1 5 6 5 5 5 5 10 2.2

1-2 5 6 5 5 5 5 10 4.4

2-3 6 8 5 10 5 10 20 6.6

3-4 6 8 5 10 5 10 20 8.8

4-5 8 11 10 10 5 10 20 11.0

5-6 8 11 10 10 10 10 20 13.2

6-7 9 13 10 10 10 10 20 15.4

7-8 9 13 10 15 10 15 20 17.6

8-9 10 15 10 15 10 15 20 19.8

9-10 10 15 10 15 10 15 20 22.0

10-11 11 17 15 15 15 15

24.2

11-12 11 17 15 20 15 20

26.4

12-13 12 18 15 20 15 20

28.6

13-14 12 18 15 20 15 20

30.8

14-15 13 19 15 20 15 20

33.0

15-16 13 19 15 25 20 20

35.2

16-17 14 20 15 25 20 20

37.4

17-18 14 20 15 25 20 20

39.6

18-19 15 21 15 25 20 20

41.8

19-20 15 21 15 25 20 20

44.0

20-21 16 22 15 25 20 20

46.2

21-22 16 22

30 20 20

48.4

22-23 18 23

30 20 20

50.6

23-24 18 23

30 20 20

52.8

24-25 19 24

30 20 20

55.0




Distance

Range

2016

MBMT

U Fare

Existing

MBMTU

Fare

Delhi

(DTC)

(2020)

PMPLU

(Pune)

Fare

(2020)

Existing

BEST

(Mumbai)

Fare Option

1

Fare

Option 2

(Similar

to Pune)

Existing

IPT

Fare

2Wh

Cost

(Rs.)

25-26 19 24

30 20 20

26-27 20 25

30 20 20

27-28 20 25

35 20 20

28-29 21 26

35 20 20

29-30 21 26

35 20 20

As presented Table 49 and Figure 44, most of the big cities are adopting simple and few stages in

their fare structure. Existing MBMTU fare changes at every 2km which becomes tedious to operate

on the field andis likely to lead to leakages in the system. Mumbai, DTC and Pune fares are low

compared to Mira Bhayandar. BEST has recently reduced the fare significantly by 35% to 40% and

fixed it at Rs.5, Rs.10, Rs.15 and a maximum fare of Rs.20. Pune and Delhi fare are also similar to

Mumbai. There are two options suggested for Mira Bhayandar i.e. Mumbai fare structure and second

is updated Pune fare structure based on city’s average trip length and its distribution. The proposed

two options are simple to operate and significantly lower compared to existing fare levels, existing

IPT fare and current operating 2Wheeler costs.

Figure 44: Suggested fare options and comparison with competitive modes

The proposed fare structure could be implemented in the year 2021 which would aim to attract

ridership from IPT which is very sensitive to fare. This fare can be revised every two years based on

changes in the cost of operations. As per Oct’ 2019 primary surveys, about 60% of IPT users have

lesser than Rs.30,000 monthly HH income.




5.4.3.3 Revenue per pax km

The Revenue per pax km is generally known as the average fare per pax km. As presented in section

above, the fare structure which other cities have adopted is below the existing fare of MBMTU. In

line with that, if MBMTU restructures the fare, such as Rs.5, Rs.10 and Rs.15, it may help attract IPT

passengers with shorter trip lengths to shift on buses. There are about 42% IPT passengers traveling

less than 2km and paying Rs.10 as the fare. Around 50% IPT passengers have travel distances

between 2 to 5 km and pay around Rs.20.

Table 50: Revenue per pax km (Fare/ pax km)

Sr. No Fare Scenario Revenue/ PaxKm

(Rs.)

1 MBMTU Existing 1.76

2 Pune (PMPLU) 1.92

3 Delhi (DTC) 1.37

4 Mumbai (BEST) – (Option 1) 1.27

5 Similar to Pune (Option 2) 1.81

Table 50 above presents a weighted average revenue per pax km for different fare alternatives. Using

the existing fare structure, the fare per pax-km works out to Rs.1.76. Pune fare gives the highest

revenue whereas BEST has the lowest revenue per paxkm. Option 2 fare structure is a modified

version of Pune with the maximum fare stage of Rs 20 considering shorter trip length in the city and

also to attract long distance passengers. Option 2 seems to be an affordable fare structure in

comparison to existing travel costs and hence is taken as the preferred option. The next section

presents its suitability concerning the overall sustainability of the system.

5.4.3.4 Fare revision mechanism

A periodic revision method (specifying the cost index) for fare is necessary in order to ensure system

sustainability against any escalations in cost inputs (mainly O&M Costs). The below formula is

proposed based on the fare revision process set out for Ahmedabad (AMTS), Ahmedabad BRTS and

Surat city bus services.

The fare rates for each km slab shall be revised annually based on the following formula:

R = [R-base] + 1.2 X {[R-base x 0.5 x (F – F-base)/F-base] + [R-base x 0.5 x (W – W-base)/W-base]}

Where:

R is Applicable Kilometre Charge for the payment period

R-base is the Base Kilometre Charge

F is present Price of Fuel/unit

F-base is Base Year Price of Fuel/unit

W is Present Year Wholesale Price Index and W-base is Base Year Wholesale Price Index.

Fares should be rounded off to nearest rupee at time of revision.

Here, future WPI and future price of diesel have been projected using past trend, the same projected

WPI and Diesel price have been used in the formula for fare revision. The recommended Option 2

fare has been revised with this formula every two years and is presented in Table 51 below;




Table 51: Future fare revision on shortlisted fare option Distance

Range (km)

2021 Fare

proposed

2023 Fare

revision

2025 fare

revision

2027 fare

revision

2029 fare

revision

0 – 2 5 6 7 8 10

2 – 7 10 12 14 16 19

7 – 11 15 18 21 24 28

11 - 30 20 23 27 31 36

5.4.4 Ridership Buildup

Based on the fleet size and mode shares, the ridership build-up is estimated as below from FY2023 to

FY2032. This estimate may not be so accurate but helps to target intermediate ridership to achieve

ultimate PT share depending upon the approach.

Figure 45: Future ridership builds up – Fleet mix scenarios

5.4.5 Fare Box Revenue

The key revenue source is the farebox revenue. One of the major concerns regarding fare-box revenue

is the pilferage for which adequate safeguarding measures need to be put in place. A robust fare

collection system that is convenient is important to ensure comfortable travel. An integrated fare

system with rail services and the upcoming metro system with smart card ticketing is suggested. Fares

also have a significant role in facilitating a modal shift, particularly from shuttle auto-rickshaws in the

city, due to this fare levels have been based lower than shuttle auto fares as well as two-wheeler costs.

As per ETM details (Feb 2020), the current share of concessional pass holders is only about 8-9% and

discounted pass holders are 3-4%, both the shares are very low compared to other cities. BEST has

about 48% passengers (concessional and discounted together) travel with passes. As per the high

quality and frequent service proposed, there is an opportunity to see high growth in regular users

which would essentially travel with concessional discounted passes. Currently, system has a regular

0.00

0.50

1.00

1.50

2.00

2.50

3.00

3.50

4.00

202

0

FY

20

21

FY

20

22

FY

20

23

FY

20

24

FY

20

25

FY

20

26

FY

20

27

FY

20

28

FY

20

29

FY

20

30

Dai

ly p

ax (

in l

akh

s)

Scen 1A and 1B - 25% PT

Scen 2A - 10% PT

Scen 2B & 3 - 15% PT

Scen 4 & 5 - 20% PT




pass, senior citizen pass, student pass and 50% discount/ concession on tickets for senior citizens,

students and children if they travel with tickets.

The fare structure and fare revision principles focus on attracting regular commuter to buses which

would augment ridership, therefore reasonable growth i.e. about 1/3rd of daily users (by 2030) would

be on concessional plus discounted users have been assumed. The discounts and concessions might

also offer multiple trips within the journey with transfers as well. The discount and concession have

been taken the same as the current pattern as presented in Table 52 below;

Table 52: Concessions and Discounts for regular users

Type of user Current rate at discount/

concession

Proposed rate at discount/

concession

General Tickets As per current fare structure As per proposed fare structure

(Option 2)

General Passes (Discounted) Rs.530/ month Rs.410/ month

Student Passes (Concession) Rs.250/ month Rs.180/ month

Child (Concession) 50% discount on ticket 50% discount on ticket

Senior Citizen ticket (Concession) 50% discount on ticket 50% discount on ticket

Student ticket (Concession) 50% discount on ticket 50% discount on ticket

Others (Concession) 50% discount on ticket 50% discount on ticket

As per the above revised discounts and concessions passes, the estimated loss is about 10% in 2023

and about 15% in 2030 for discounts and concession together; where only concessional losses are 7%

and 9% in 2023 to 2030 from the total expected revenue. The concessional losses should be covered

through funds from the state government. With all concessions and discounts, fare revision and

ridership build up; overall farebox revenue is estimated from 2023 to 2030 for each fleet mix scenario

(Table 53);

Table 53: Fare box revenue estimation for fleet mix scenarios

Escalated

Total

Infrastructure

Cost

1A 1B 2A 2B 3 4 5

PPHPD -

All

Standard

PPHPD -

All Midi

LF 60%

(2030)

All

Standard

LF 60%

(2030) All

Midi

LF 60%

(2030) Stand

+ Midi

LF 60%

(2030) Midi

+ Mini

LF 60%

(2030)

Standard +

Midi + Mini

2023 21 21 17 19 19 20 20

2024 36 36 20 27 27 31 31

2025 68 68 29 45 45 57 57

2026 97 97 36 61 61 79 79

2027 132 132 46 81 81 106 106

2028 150 150 50 91 91 120 120

2029 195 195 63 117 117 156 156

2030 203 203 65 122 122 162 162

Total

Revenue 901 901 326 563 563 732 732

5.4.5.1 Non-fare box Revenue

Non-fare box revenue includes non-ticket sales and may include revenue from advertisement,

commercial development, cross-subsidy, property rental, etc. Non-fare box revenue sources are




crucial for covering up the operating deficits and making operations viable. In the case of Mira

Bhayandar, non-fare revenues have been considered in the range of 10-12%. Innovating funding

sources like green tax, parking charges can also be explored. For funds for depots and terminals,

developing these on a PPP basis can be explored. Any gaps in operating deficits would have to be

covered through Viability Gap Funding by the municipal corporation. This could be done through

budgetary allocations/ policy level changes at the state level and/or instituting a city level UTF.

Adopting GCC for operations, where the operator has to bring in buses as per MBMTU’s

specification which would reduce the capital expenditure drastically.

Concessions and passes are means of incentivizing bus travel for certain sections of society.

Concessions for students, elderly etc., and passes for regular travelers can help in subsidizing travel

for certain sections of society, achieving the objective of access for different socio-economic groups.

5.5 Financial Evaluation for fleet mix scenario

The total associated cost with fleet mix scenarios and the revenue has been estimated and the

summary outputs are presented below. The evaluation framework (Table 54) considered includes

criteria of EPKM/ CPKM recovery, average load factor, cost per pass-km and operating ratio.

Scenario 1A and 1B are based on PPHPD approach, as explained these are very ambitious i.e.

675 and 1120 on road buses, targeting these from existing fleet size 85 would not be

reasonable.

Scenario 4 and 5 are performing best among all the scenarios. They are with good LF, the

highest cost recovery and the lowest cost/ pass km demand. There is also not much difference

between Scenario 4 & 5 in any of the evaluation criteria, however, operating three different

types of buses in one system may lead to several operating challenges.

Scenario 2B and 3 can target 15% PT share, average LF, operating ratio and EPKM/ CPKM

ratio are same for both but cost/ passenger km demand is marginally better for Scenario 3

where MBMTU might need to change their traditional pattern of operating only standard

buses.

Scenario 2A with all standard buses does not offer very well cost-effectiveness and also does

not attract desirable ridership however MBMTU may give preference to this scenario as it

requires least additional area requirement for the depot and also MBMTU has experience of

operating standard buses.

Considering the above aspects, Scenario 2A, 3 and 4 can be shortlisted which are likely to increase

bus mode share to 10%, 15% and 20%. The detailed operating cost breakup, revenue estimation,

operating ratio and load factor for future years are presented in Annexure 7 for all scenarios.




Table 54: Evaluation Framework (Dashboard) – Fleet Mix Scenarios

Scenario -->

1A 1B 2A 2B 3 4 5

PPHPD - All

Standard PPHPD - All Midi

LF 60% (2030)

All Standard

LF 60% (2030)

All Midi

LF 60% (2030)

Standard + Midi

LF 60% (2030)

Midi + Mini

LF 60% (2030)

Standard + Midi +

Mini

Cost Estimates

Total number of buses 743 1232 182 305 288 369 355

Fleet Cost 591 523 143 128 130 133 137

Cost/ Pax Km - 60% 2.68 3.02 2.61 2.88 2.85 3.18 3.16

Total Operational

Cost (2023 to 2030) 3250 3725 942 1111 1095 1196 1172

Area for additional

Depots 34.63 46.78 6.58 9.69 9.27 11.21 11.02

Depot Cost with land 355 480 67 99 95 115 113

Total Cost (Life cycle

+ Depot) 3606 4205 1010 1211 1190 1311 1285

Revenue Estimates

PT Share 23%-25% 23%-25% 8%-12% 13%-15% 13%-15% 18%-20% 18%-20%

Daily Pax (2030) 378544 378544 121134 227126 227126 302835 302835

Revenue (2023-30) 901 901 326 563 563 732 732

Evaluation

CPKM (2023-2030)

(Rs./km) 113 79 110 80 83 75 78

EPKM (Rs./km) 31 19 38 40 42 46 48

% Recovery of CPKM 28% 24% 35% 51% 51% 61% 62%

Cost/Pax Km demand

(2023-30) 9.04 10.36 7.08 4.91 4.84 4.08 4.00

LF (2023-2030) 0.17 0.17 0.22 0.35 0.35 0.46 0.47

Operating Ratio

(2023-2030) 0.33 0.27 0.40 0.57 0.58 0.68 0.70




6 Operating Model

6.1 Service Delivery

One of the key questions is how the services would be delivered. This section discusses different

types of bus operations models followed by discussion of existing operating model in case of Mira

Bhayandar City. The subsequent section presents the key observations and recommendations.

6.1.1 Overview of Bus Operations Model

There are broadly three options (Figure 46) for bus operations model as detailed below.

1. Public Monopoly: This model suggests that bus services in the city shall be owned and

operated by State Transport Undertakings (STUs)/state agencies as they are more likely to

have the society’s interests at heart and can theoretically operate at lower costs than the

private sector. However, state operations have typically failed due to the mentioned reasons:

a. State agencies often suffer from the dilemma of providing profit making services or

have a reduced need for subsidies while at the same time provide services at reduced

rates (regulated low fares).

b. Authorities highly rely on subsidies from government with low focus on passenger

demand and customer service resulting in a ‘supply-oriented’ service rather than

‘demand-oriented’. This often leads to financial pressures resulting in cost-cutting

and service level reduction further declining passenger numbers and consequently,

dwindling revenue.

2. Private Sector Monopoly: This model suggests the bus operations be fully privatized, where

the private sector carries the responsibility for transport outcomes. The market forces are left

to dictate the balance between supply and demand under this model. The major drawback of

this model is that the operators yield control over both service quality and fares. The private

operators could not bear the risk of balancing both service quality with providing optimal fare

to ensure customer-oriented services.

3. Public Private Partnership (PPP) model: This is a partnership contract between the private

operator and public agencies with clearly defined objectives and state roles and

responsibilities of both parties. It is typically a medium to a long-term arrangement between

the public and private sectors whereby services that are typically the responsibility of the

public sector are transferred to the private sector. There are two aspects of a PPP contract that

make it valuable and useful in the management of city bus services:

a. the inherent ‘contractual’ basis of the agreement




i. Clear definition of roles and responsibilities, obligations, procedures of each

party are mentioned in the contractual conditions of the contract agreement; it

enforces both the parties to achieve intended outcomes.

ii. Performance based renumerations are easier to enforce under contract

conditions with developed payment mechanisms and penalty regimes. Also

allows removal of poorly performing operator.

b. the aspect of ‘partnership’ suggesting financial viability to both parties, risk

distribution for better management.

Figure 46: Bus Operation models

6.1.2 PPP Operating Model Contract types

The contract types of PPP model (Figure 47 below) varies from a Gross Cost Model, where the entire

revenue risk is with the authorities, to a Net Cost Model, where the operator takes the responsibility of

managing the revenue risk. The contracts also include hybrid models, which act more like a

‘partnership’ and are balanced in terms of risk sharing and partnering toward a common objective.

The activity chart of all the four contract types is presented in Figure 47 below.




Figure 47: PPP contract types

The four types of PPP contracts along with the activity matrix are described below. The merits and

demerits of different contracts for both authority and private operator are presented in Figure 48

below.

a) Gross Cost Contract (GCC): This contract grants higher control to the government authority

as it manages the network, by contracting the operators and paying them to provide a set level

of services under set quality standards. Under this type of contract, the authority carries the

revenue risk, plans overall services, manages the contract for Level of Service (LOS) and

quality, and is ultimately responsible for customer service. This contract sets overall Service

Levels (SL)/Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and requires close monitoring by the

authority.

b) Net Cost Contract (NCC): In the NCC, most of the service planning and revenue risks are

carried by operator and the authority performs only regulatory role. Though the service

quality levels and KPIs are set as conditions for awarding the NCC the authority has lesser

control mechanisms which typically results in a loss of control and risk leading to undesirable

outcomes.

c) Hybrid Gross Cost Contract: It is a variant of GCC where the authority still carries prime

responsibility for passenger service outcomes and sets explicit service obligations (SL), but

incentivizes the operator through additional payment for ridership growth sharing the revenue

risk.

d) Hybrid Net Cost Contract: It is a variant of NCC where the authority supports non-

commercial routes where service on the routes needs to be provided as a public service

obligation (PSO). This contract type is suitable for more skilled, willing, and experienced

operators who are capable of undertaking service planning and managing almost all the

revenue risk. The authority sets overall SL/Quality KPIs and needs to monitor outcomes. But,

by its inherent nature, the level of control by the authority is less. The characteristics of

hybrid NCC and Hybrid GCC contract types are mentioned in Figure 48 below.

GCC

Private Operator:

Owns, operates and

maintains bus fleets

Owns and maintains

plant and equipment

Maintain workshops

and depot

infrastructure

Receives Km

Charge Rate (KCR)

GCC Hybrid

Private Operator:

Same as in GCC

except

Receives KCR fixed

+ Variable based on

LF

NCC

Private Operator:

Retains Fare box

Revenue

Owns, operates and

maintains bus fleets,

plant and equipment

Maintain depot

infrastructure

Receives System

Mgmt. Fees (SMF ‘+’

or ‘-‘)

NCC Hybrid

Private Operator:

Same as in NCC

Receives Pre-fixed

subsidy for selected

routes




Figure 48: PPP Contracts –Merits and Demerits

PPP CONTRACTS Gross Cost Contract: Revenue

risk is with authorities

Net Cost Contract: Revenue risk is

with operators

GCC Private Operator:

Owns, operates and maintains bus fleets

Owns and maintains plant and equipment

Maintain workshops and depot infrastructure

Receives Km Charge Rate (KCR)

GCC Hybrid

Private Operator:

Same as in GCC except

Receives KCR fixed + Variable based on LF

NCC Private Operator:

Retains Fare box Revenue

Owns, operates and maintains bus fleets, plant and

equipment

Maintain depot infrastructure

Receives System Mgmt.Fees(SMF ‘+’ or ‘-‘)

GCC Hybrid Private Operator:

Same as in NCC

Receives Pre-fixed subsidy for selected routes

Ty

pes

For Authority

Funds Requirement – Low

Investment Risk – Low

Overall Risk evenly distributed leading to

- Larger bidding competition

- Better Price discovery

Competition – High

Operating Flexibility – Excellent

Data availability – Excellent

Contractual Enforcement – Good

Operational Safety – High

Cartelling Possibility – Nil

For Private Operator Bankability – High

Revenue and Operation Risk – Low

Fare Revision concerns – Nil

- Incentives for:Cost Reduction - High

- Managerial efficiency improvement - High

For Authority

Funds Requirement – Low

Investment Risk – Low

Revenue and Operations Risk – Nil

Monitoring & Control Needs/Cost – Minimal

Competition – High

Force Majeure Risk – Minimum

For Private Operator

Functional Integration - High

Incentives for:

- Revenue maximization – High

- Service Quality Improvement - High

- Cost Reduction - High

- Managerial efficiency improvement - High

Mer

its

For Authority

Revenue Risk – Medium

Functional integration – Medium

Monitoring & Control Need/Cost – Medium

Service Quality Assurance – Low


Incentives for:

- Revenue Maximization - Nil

- Capacity Utilization Maximization – Nil

Payment Risk - Medium

For Authority

Risk concentration leading to poor:

- Bidding competition, Price discovery

Operating flexibility - Poor

Data availability – Poor

Contractual enforcement – Poor

Service Quality Assurance – Poor

Operational Safety – Low

Cartelling Possibility – High

Overlapping operations – Inter POs disputes / un-

healthy & dangerous competition on roads


Fare revenue concerns - High

Traffic/Revenue Projections – Difficult

Viability Gap payment – High Uncertainty

Bankability – Poor

Force Majeure Risk - Medium

Dem

eri

ts




6.1.3 Existing PPP contract for bus operations in Mira Bhayandar

MBMTU started bus services in the city in the year 2005. The bus operations have been offered by

private operators on a Net Cost Contract (NCC). MBMTU has changed three operators in the last 15

years because of inefficient service operations. The second operator contract was terminated in 2015

and 2015 to 2019 MBMTU operated the services by hiring drivers and conductors on contract.

However, because of poor financial performance, MBMTU decided to stop operations and contract it

out to private bus operators again. In 2019, MBMTU signed the Net Cost Contract with M/s

Bhagirathi in order to carry out city bus operations for six years where the operator has to manage bus

operations, it's scheduling, fare collection, bus maintenance etc. The city bus operations under the new

contract were initiated on 9th October 2019.

The contract duration is 6 years, extendable by another 2 years. The contract covers a total of 83

MBMT buses to be operated by M/s Bhagirathi on 21 routes as per the specified schedule. The

revenue risk is with the operator, and a VGF as per Table 55 below is to be paid by MBMC to the

operator from the commencement of operations.

Table 55: VGF per kilometer for operation of city bus operations Years VGF per kilometre for city bus operation in MBMC on NCC basis in (Rs)

First 26.00

Second 27.10

Third 28.20

Fourth 29.60

Fifth 31.40

Sixth 33.60

Seventh 36.30

Eighth 39.60

The current VGF rates appear for a Net Cost Contract seems to be high, however this could be owing

to a negligible bus market before commencement of bus operations under the new contract. Due to

this, private operators could have sensed a higher risk, thereby expecting higher VGF rates. In

comparison, a gross cost operation would not be substantially different from these rates.

6.1.4 Proposed Operating Model

As per the fleet requirement and procurement plan, in the year 2030 fleet size would be 180 to 370

depending upon the scenario. Given the current mode share of buses is around 4% and the existence

of high latent demand, it is important to deliver high-quality bus services to facilitate a shift to PT.

The bus market would have to be developed, understanding well that facilitating a shift towards PT

from private transport is challenging. It would therefore be important to put in place a frequent high-

quality bus service in all parts of the city to attract passengers. While doing so, revenue risk would

need to lie with MBMT, as passenger build-up may need time. Other complementary demand




management measures like parking controls and charges would also have to be put in place to ensure

a shift from private modes.

It is also important to note that while the market is being developed, bus routes would need to be

flexible and may have to be tweaked based on the travel patterns of passengers. At the same time,

while the new routes are being introduced, the existing routes may have to be removed, modified or

gradually withdrawn.

The Net Cost Contract would not provide enough flexibility in such an evolving scenario. Further, in

light of COVID, restarting operations and build-up of demand would be a gradual process. The

services would also need to be adapted due to uncertainties of demand, making it worthwhile to start

with a Gross Cost Contract. The progressive phased introduction of hybrid GCC model can be done

utilizing their experience on GCC model. One of the possibilities, therefore, could be that the current

contract is renegotiated based on the above considerations. The responsibility matrix for both MBMT

and private operator as per the proposed operations strategy is presented in Table 56 below.

Table 56: Responsibility matrix – Operator and Authority

Functions MBMT Private Operator

Bus Provision Provision of Bus specification and

Performance and quality standards

for the services to be provided

Issue fitness certificate

Procure a lot of buses as per

specifications, Procure bus license from

RTO, registration of buses, payment of

taxes etc.

Infrastructure

Provision

Provide adequate parking facilities

for buses –depots or any other site

and workshop

ITMS Procure, install, and monitor

communication devices on the buses

and set up Control Centre

Allow authority to monitor the bus and

now allow any tamper with such

communication system/ITS and/or

cameras installed

Bus operations Provision of timetable schedule

Operate and maintain buses at its own cost

Provide an adequate number of drivers

and helpers and train them

Ensure buses pick and drop at designated

stops

Allow access to buses to all members of

public

Make arrangement for removal of vehicles

in event of a breakdown and provide

alternate buses for passengers

Maintain a control room to monitor

movement of buses and respond in an

event of emergency

Designate and appoint suitable officers to

run the day-to-day activities of the

transport system

Fare Passenger fare determination and

passenger fare collection on its own,

or through outsourcing to a third

party

Bus and Inspection of buses and depot Maintain cleanliness on buses




Functions MBMT Private Operator

infrastructure

maintenance

facilities to assess their upkeep and

maintenance

Maintain an adequate level of inventory

for repair and maintenance of buses

Allow authority to undertake inspections

as and when it deems fit

Ensure the safety of buses and depots

against theft and vandalism

Passenger

feedback and

Complaint

redressal

Assess if passenger complaints are

taken care of

Undertake passenger perception

surveys

Address consumer complaints forwarded

by authority

Service

monitoring

Monitoring of operations and service

quality parameters

Conduct regular inspections of buses,

from time to time

Levy penalties on the private

operator on account of non-

performance




7 Key Performance Indicators

Performance indicators are useful tools for ensuring monitoring the quality of the delivered transit

services. It is important to identify indicators of relevance as “what gets measured, gets attention”

(TCRP 88).

Performance measures help to assess how well the services are delivered to the customers, identify

areas of improvement and assess whether their actions are leading to improvement in performance

levels. A good performance measurement system should also take into consideration the goals and

objectives set by the transit agency. The aim of the transit agency should be that the service provision

is undertaken as efficiently as possible so that the goals and objectives are met and over the years

improvement in service quality would help in retaining existing riders while also attracting new riders

to the system.

In the case of Mira Bhayandar, MBMC has specified a set of minimum service quality standards for

the bus service operator to be monitored monthly.

These are presented in Table 57 below:

Table 57: Service quality standards for the bus service operator under NCC Sr

No Quality Parameter Formula

Specified Service

Quality Level

1 Fleet Utilization No of buses operated*100/ No of buses

scheduled

93% (Excluding

Sundays and Holidays)

2 Bus Utilization Km operated by all buses/ Total no of buses

held

Minimum 180kms

3 Trip Efficiency No of trips operated*100/ No of trips

scheduled

98% or better

4 Reliability of bus Total no of breakdowns*10000/ Total kms

operated

Less than 3

5 Safety of Operations No of accidents*100000/ Total kms operated Preferably Nil

6 Punctuality (Adherence to

the time schedule)

No of trips on time at start*100/ Total no of

trips operated

98% or better

7 User Satisfaction No of complaints*1000/ Total trips operated Less than 2

8 Stoppage of buses at

designated stops

No of stops where the bus stopped*100/ Total

no of stops on the route

100%

9 Completion of entire trip Total kms operated per trip*100/ Total route

length

95%

In addition, penalties have been specified for defaults and deficiencies related to buses, drivers,

operations related, accidents and passenger related as can be seen in Table 58 below:

Table 58: Penalties for defaults and service deficiencies as per NCC contract

Sr No Description

Fine per Violation

per bus per day

(in Rs)

1 Bus related default and deficiency

A Discoloration, alteration of the bus colour, logo, peeling off of paint, non-

painting of any repaired work inside or outside the bus

500

B Unclean, dirty bus inside or outside at the start of the trip 100

C Driving with a defective number plate 100

D Bus operating with broken seat missing window glass 200




Sr No Description

Fine per Violation

per bus per day

(in Rs)

2 Bus Driver related default and deficiency

A Bus operation with defective LED destination boards/ or bus operations

without destination boards

200

B Non-operating bus doors, operating bus with open doors, hanging

passengers and conductors

300

C Driver is not carrying a proper driving license 500

D Driver is not wearing uniform 100

E Driver conductor found under the influence of alcohol 2000

G Passenger complaints of stop skipping, rash driving, starting the bus before

boarding or alighting is completed

500

H Signal Jumping 500

3 Bus operator or bus operation related deficiency/defaults

A Deviating from routes/trip/schedules/timetable issued by MBMC or

authorized representative time to time

500

B Not taking corrective actions on repeated occurrence of vehicles (including

breakdowns) or driver related deficiency (occurrence of a deficiency more

than 3 times a week can be termed as repetitive)

500

C Misbehavior with passenger 500

D Buses operating without fitness, insurance and permits 1000

E Any damage to the fixed infrastructure inside the depot (maintenance

facilities) and outside the depot (railing, streetlights, bus stops, terminals,

parking space etc. during the operation)

Get it repaired by

the operator as per

the actual cost of

replacement

F Reports of any misconducts by the bus operation staff in depot 1000 for each

instance

4 Accidents

A In case of 1st fatal accident due to negligence of driver during preliminary

investigations

15000

B In case of 2nd

fatal accident and proved due to the negligence of the driver in

the preliminary investigation

30000

5 Passenger related default and deficiency

A For avoiding passenger fare Fines as per the

provision of MV

act or as per the

practice of MMR

bus operations

B Over travelling Fines as per the

provision of MV

act or as per the

practice of MMR

bus operations

While the above set seems to be focused on the agency as well as user set of measures, a link with

overall vision and goals set out for the bus services is also important. Also, the provision of quality

bus services is expected to lead to improved ridership on the system. Therefore, measures that focus

on assessing service effectiveness in terms of ridership levels are also critical.

7.1 Performance Measures and Vision & Goals of MBMC

The goals and objectives defined by a transit agency should be used to help outline performance

measures. The vision, mission and strategic directions of the plan are presented in Figure 49 below. It

can be seen that these focus on both commuters as well as operator/agency perspectives.




Figure 49: Vision, Mission and Strategic Directions

Figure 50: Objectives and Performance Measures of the Service Plan

In line with the Vision, Mission and Strategic Directions, objectives and measures have been defined

taking also into consideration qualitative perception survey outputs.

As shown in Figure 50 above, the performance measures can be categorised as under:

1. Service Availability

2. Service Delivery

3. Service Effectiveness

Vis

ion

Making bus a preferred mode of travel in Mira Bhayandar

Mis

sio

n

Provision of reliable, efficient and high-quality bus services

Stra

tegi

c d

ire

ctio

ns Integrated public

transport system

Commuter-centric high frequency service

Connectivity to all parts of the city

Efficient operations and financial management




4. Safety

5. Efficient Operations

6. Cost Efficiency

7.2 Proposed performance measures

The existing indicators are checked against the identified performance measure categories to assess

their adequacy and identify any gaps and need for any new indicators.

Table 59: Proposed performance categories and status Performance Measure

Categories

Existing indicators Remarks

Service availability Currently not covered. Some of the indicators

could be:

Area coverage, high frequency network/area,

span of service, % area accessible within 15

minutes travel time.

Service delivery Reliability of bus (Total

no of

breakdowns*10000/

Total kms operated)

Punctuality (Adherence

to the time schedule) No

of trips on time at

start*100/ Total no of

trips operated

Stoppage of buses at

designated stops No of

stops where the bus

stopped*100/ Total no

of stops on the route

No of complaints*1000/

Total trips operated

Only considers breakdowns and schedule

adherence at the start location.

Other indicators could be:

Travel time reliability

maintenance of regular headways

Excess Wait Times

Service Effectiveness Does not consider any service effectiveness

indicators. Following indicators may be

considered:

Ridership per bus

Passengers per veh-km

Safety of operations Safety of Operations (No of

accidents*100000/ Total

kms operated)

Efficient Operations Fleet Utilization

Bus utilisation

Trip efficiency (No of

trips operated*100/ No

of trips scheduled)

Completion of entire

trip (Total kms operated

per trip*100/ Total route

length)

Cost efficiency Financial indicators not considered

It can thus be seen from Table 59 above that the existing indicators are not adequate and do not cover

service availability, service effectiveness and cost efficiency categories. Therefore, an additional set

of indicators have been defined as can be seen from Table 60 below:




Table 60: Proposed indicators for performance measures

Sr. No. Performance Measure

Categories Indicators Existing/New

Pertains to

perspective of Remarks

1

Service Availability

Extent of Supply-

Availability of Public

Transport

New User

This indicator highlights fleet supply available in PT Service to serve

city’s population.

SLB gradings suggests extent to which fleet supply should be serving

the city's commuters.

Higher LOS suggests better extent of fleet supply in the city

2 Service Coverage of

Public Transport New User

This indicator measures share of PT service plying with less than

20min frequency in the city. Higher route service frequency in bus

operations provides commuters to opt PT service as a mode of the

travel to their destined locations.

3 Accessibility New User

This indicator suggests reach of PT services to % of city's population.

Higher percentage indicates better accessibility of PT network to

residents in the city.

4

Service Delivery

Breakdown

probability New Operator

This indicator measures daily bus breakdowns. The lesser the no of

breakdowns the higher the trip operating efficiency or better schedule

adherence.

Higher value indicates lower efficiency.

5 Travel time reliability New User

This indicator suggests deviation in travel time reached due to delay

in completion of bus trips during peak hours. Higher value of

standard deviation indicates trip cancellation and late departures and

arrivals of fleet at terminals.

6 Passenger waiting

time New User

This indicator measures time required for an individual or a group of

people to catch bus service to their destined location in the city. The

lower the waiting time of bus services, higher the chances riders

choosing PT as their mode of transport

7 Skip Stops Existing Authority

This indicator measures stoppage violation caused by driver's during

service operation in the city. This gap will leave commuters to alight

or board at the farther distance to their desired location and violate

schedule adherence.






Pertains to


8

Punctuality:

Adherence to the time

schedule

Existing -

Modified Authority

This indicator measures adherence of buses to schedules provided to

fulfil the travel demand of commuters in the city. Low figures

indicate trip cancellation and more breakdown of buses in the city.

9 Customer satisfaction Existing User

This indicator suggests improvement and advancement of bus service

quality, accessibility required in the system to cater to more reliable

service operation in the city.

10 Occupancy Ratio

(Load Factor) New User

This indicator measures passengers per seat. As a measure of

comfort, it is more suitable for inter-city services because the journey

is fairly longer than that in intra-city services.

11

Service Effectiveness

Ridership per bus per

day New Authority

This indicator normalizes bus ridership by bus fleet size, and reflects

the asset utilization.

A higher value means that on average, a bus carries more passengers

and suggests better asset utilization.

12

Average Daily

passenger km per

vehicle km

New Authority

This indicator measures the average system loading, in other words,

how well the operating capacity has been utilized.

A higher value suggests better performance.

13 Boarding per 1000

population New Authority

This indicator tracks no of passengers using the system throughout

the year, indicating improving performance and efficiency of bus

operations in the city.

14 Safety of operations Safety New User

This indicator outlines no. of casualties in the city due to the PT

service. Authority and operator should target to achieving zero

casualties. Any value higher than zero suggest driver training.

15

Efficient Operations

Fleet Utilization New Authority

Fleet Utilization prompts for higher buses operating on road.

The closer the figure to 100%, higher the optimum utilization of

buses

16 Bus utilization New Authority Vehicle Utilization reflects daily kms operated by on-road buses.

The higher the value, the higher is the trip efficiency of buses.

17 Trip efficiency New Authority This indicator measured trip efficiency of the bus system.

The lesser the trips delayed or cancelled the higher the percent value.






Pertains to


18 Route kms missed New Authority

This indicator suggests route violation caused by drivers due to the

lack of information or training thereby margining complete

reachability of the bus services in the city.

19 Non-revenue km

share New Authority

This indicator measures the non-revenue bus kms. The closer the

depot locations to the bus start terminals the lesser the dead kms. The

lower the kms more the kms gains profits.

Values are suggested to be as lower as possible.

20

Cost Efficiency

Operating cost per

passenger km New Operator

This indicator measures the cost required to deliver every kilometre a

passenger travel. As operating cost is largely fixed (e.g. manpower

cost, fuel cost) once the route and schedule are determined, a higher

ridership and longer trip distance would lead to higher operational

efficiency.

21 Revenue earned per

passenger km New Authority

This indicator measures how much a commuter pays for one km

he/she travels in the PT system.




7.3 Performance measures – existing and proposed scenarios

The following Table 61 below details out evaluation data required and process to analyse the key

performance indicators. The table also explains details on measuring indicators derived from Service

Level Benchmark’s in terms of the level of service rankings.

Table 61: Indicators and values for existing and proposed service scenarios

Sr.

No. Indicators Existing

Proposed Scenario (2030)

Scenario-2A Scenario-3 Scenario-4

Service Availability

1 Extent of Supply-Availability of Public Transport

a No of buses available in a city on any day 85 183 290 374

b Total population of the city 1204643 1710932 1710932 1710932

c Total no of buses available (a)/Total population*1000

(b) 0.07 0.11 0.17 0.22

SLB Level of Service (LOS) Grading 4 3 3 3

This indicator highlights fleet supply available in PT Service to serve citiy's population. SLB gradings suggests extent

to which fleet supply should be serving the city's commuters. Higher LOS suggests better extent of fleet supply in the

city. The Identified ranges of the supply are suggested as:-

1) LOS1 - > 0.4,

2) LOS2 - > 0.25 & < 0.4,

3) LOS3 - > 0.1 & < 0.25 and

4) LOS4 - < 0.1

2 Service Coverage of Public Transport

a Transit Access Area (sq km) 20.7 20.76 20.76 20.76

b Total administrative area (sq km) 22 22 22 22

c Total transit access area (a)/ Total Area (b) 94% 94% 94% 94%


This indicator measures share of PT service plying with less than 20min frequency in the city.Higher route service

frequency in bus operations provides commuters to opt PT service as a mode of the travel to their destined locations.

The identified SLB ranges can be refered in the list below:-

1) LOS1 - >= 1,

2) LOS2 - > 0.7 & < 1,

3) LOS3 - > 0.3 & < 0.7 and

4) LOS4 - < 0.3

3 Accessibility

a Transit Access Area (sq kms) 20.7 20.76 20.76 20.76

b Transit Access Area with high freq stops (sq kms) 12.3 18.3 18.9 19.2

c Total Transit Access Area with high freq stops (b)/

Total Transit Access Area (a)*100 59% 88% 91% 92%

Service Delivery

4 Breakdown Probablity

a No. of breakdown * 10000

b Total no of kms operated 13445.9 37950 60260 77050

c No. of breakdowns*10000 (a)/ Total kms (b)

5 Travel Time Reliablity

a Scheduled time of travel

b Standard Deviation of actual time of travel




Sr.




c Scheduled (a) - SD Actual (b) / Scheduled time of

travel

6 Passenger waiting time

a Average frequency of buses surpassing a bus stop in a

hour 9.5 14 10 14

b Avg passenger waiting time at a bus stop (mins) 6.1 6.9 4.7 3.4

7 Skip Stops

a No of stops where the bus stopped

b Total no of stops on the route 287 336 336 336

c Bus Stoppage count *100 (a)/ Total no of stops (b)

*100

8 Punctuality

a Total no of trips starts on time as per bus schedule

b Total no of trips scheduled 615 3239 4973 7223

c Total no of trips starting on time (a) / total no of

scheduled trips (b) *100

9 Customer Satisfaction

a No of complaints registered * 1000

b Total no of trips operated 615 3239 4973 7139

c Total no of complaints (a)/ Total no of trips (b)

10 Occupancy Ratio (Load Factor)

a Total passenger kms 287477.

3 614149 1151530 1535373

b Total bus supply kms (total fleet*carrying

capacity*Avg. VU) 953700 2314950 3290086 3337767

c Total passenger km (a)/ Total bus supply km(b) 0.27 0.22 0.35 0.46

Service Effectiveness

11 Ridership per bus per day

a Daily ridership 43843 121123 227123 302740

b Total no. of buses 85 183 290 374

c Total passengers carried (a)/Total no. of buses (b) 516 662 783 809

12 Average Daily passenger km per vehicle km

a Passenger km 287477.

3 614149 1151530 1535373

b Vehicle km 13445.9 37950 60260 77050

c Total passenger kms (a)/Total effective kms (b) 21 16 19 20

13 Boardings per 1000 population

a Total Boardings 43843 121123 227123 302740

b Population 1204643 1710932 1710932 1710932

c Boardings*1000 (a) / Population (b) 36 71 133 177





Sr.




This indicator tracks no of passengers using the system throughout the year, indicating improving performance and

efficieny of bus operations in the city.SLB indicator suggestion for the indicators are mentioned in the array below:-

1) LOS1 - >= 500,

2) LOS2 - > 250 & < 500,

3) LOS3 - > 250 & < 100 and

4) LOS4 - <= 100

Saftey of Operations

14 Safety

a Total no. of accidents

b Total no. of accidents (a)/ million km

Efficiency of Operations

15 Fleet Utilization

a Total no. of buses 66 183 290 374

b Total no. of on-road buses 58 165 261 337

c Total no of on-raod buses (a)/ Total no of buses (b)

*100 86 90 90 90

16 Vehicle Utilization

a Vehicle km 13746 37950 60260 77050

b Total no. of on-road buses 58 165 261 337

c Total vehicle kms (a)/ Total no of on-road buses(b) 237 230 231 229

17 Regularity of Service

a Total actual trips operated 611

b Total schceduled trips 615 3239 4973 7223

c Total actual trips operated (a)/ Total scheduled trips

(b)*100 99%

18 Route km missed

a Total bus kms per trip

b Total scheduled route kms

c Total compliance with route (a)/ Total route kms

(b)*100

19 Non Revenue kms share

a Total Dead km

b Total vehicle kms operated 13445.9 37950 60260 77050

c Total dead km /Total operated vehicle kms (b)

Cost Efficiency

20 Operating cost per passenger km

a Operating Cost (in crore) 14.0 154 181 212

b Passenger km (in crore) 10.5 22.4 42 56

c Total operating cost (a)/Total passenger km (b) 1.3 6.9 4.3 3.8

21 Revenue earned per passenger km

a Total traffic revenue (in crore) 11.3 64.94 121.77 162.36

b Total passenger km (in crore) 10.5 22.4 42 56

c Total traffic revenue (a)/ Total passengers km (b) 1.1 2.9 2.9 2.9




8 Organizational Structure

Efficient management of bus operations is critical for ensuring the quality of bus services and

attracting new passengers to the system. The bus operations in Mira Bhayandar since its inception has

been predominantly catered by private operators under Net Cost Contracts with MBMT. The

organizational structure and staffing of the agency vary depending on whether the services are

operated in-house or if they are contracted out. This section, therefore, is structured in three sections –

first dealing with the existing organizational structure, followed by identification of functions of the

agency under the current contract structure. The final section presents observations and

recommendations.

8.1 Existing structure of MBMT

Mira Bhayandar Municipal Transport Undertaking is formed under the BPMC Act. The Transport

Manager is responsible to manage the Transport undertaking and perform all acts necessary for the

economical and efficient maintenance, operation, administration, and development of the undertaking

(Figure 51).

Figure 51: Current organizational structure of Mira Bhayandar

Deputy Municipal Commissioner, Mira Bhayandar has been given the charge of Transport Manager

currently. The Transport Manager overlooks the ITS officer, the Operations Manager, the Junior

Engineer, and the Depot Manager. Operations Manager and ITS officer are responsible for managing

the entire bus operations and ITS system respectively, while the Depot Manager is responsible for

overall bus management at the depot level.

As per the existing situation (September 2020), the positions of Depot Manager and ITS Officer are

vacant. Junior Engineer was involved in overlooking and supporting the construction of the

Ghodbunder depot and related activities, which has been completed now.

TRANSPORT MANAGER

(Deputy Commissioner)

OPERATIONS MANAGER

DEPOT MANAGER (VACANT POSITION)

ITS OFFICER (VACANT POSITION)

JUNIOR ENGINEER




8.2 Existing structure of operator

With regard to the private operator, as per the contract, Bhagirathi Travels has appointed Project

manager, operations director/manager, finance director/manager, HR director/manager along with 2

supervisors and assistants required as per MBMC.MBMT Functions

The current bus operations are outsourced under a Net Cost Contract. MBMT, therefore, has more of

a regulatory and monitoring role to ensure that the services are delivered accordingly as per the

contract by the private operator.

The key functions of MBMT are as below:

Strategic planning for Public Transport services in the operational areas of MBMC.

Route network and operations planning and operations scheduling

Setting service quality standards and benchmarking the same

Preparing bus specifications, bus fleet and infrastructure requirement

Preparing RFP, contracts and agreements documents

Acquisition of bus operators

Monitoring and control of PT operations

Procurement of buses as per fleet procurement schedule and obtains bus permits at its own

cost

Develop an arrangement for integrated ticketing system, and deposit operator’s share of

payment from the passenger fare collected and nominated by the authority in the ESCROW

account

Passenger fare determination and annual review

Provide bus shelter infrastructure and depot with infrastructure facilities

Provide routes and schedules for the operator to adhere and monitor operations

Construct control center and equip it with ITS

Operate and maintain control center by themselves or through a Third Party

Monitor and supervise operator functioning through ITS data

Responsible for branding and marketing of project

Monitor complaints and public grievances

Random checks on buses for revenue leakage

Inspection of buses – quality and maintenance

Approval for advertisement on buses

Levy damages/penalties for service deficiencies and/or violations

Make timely payment of Viability Gap Funding (VGF) to operator in accordance with the

terms of the agreement

MBMT functions as per the current NCC contract is unique as typically in NCC bus operator is

required to provide both buses and services, however, in case of Mira Bhayandar, the contracted bus

operator provides services using the MBMT buses. Random checks for revenue leakages are also the

responsibility of the agency, however since it is the private operator’s concern, the agency does not

get involved in checking passenger revenues or revenue leakages.

These functions can be categorized under the following seven heads:




a) Strategic functions: Long term planning of the MBMT operations and strategic decisions of

service coverage, fleet addition, fare structuring and revision, security and vigilance

b) Administrative, legal and personnel

c) Operations planning and monitoring: Route network planning, service quality standards,

Monitoring services of the operator through ITS and MIS, permit and insurance related issues,

managing public complaints and operator grievances

d) Technical functions and procurement: decisions of vehicle type, size and technology for

procurement, fleet size, technical specification of buses, RfP preparation and bid process

management, inspection of buses, monitoring of bus repair and maintenance, contract

management

e) Infrastructure planning (bus shelter requirements, depots, terminals), designing, acquiring and

commissioning, handing over the operator, monitoring of maintenance activities and upkeep

of infrastructure facilities

f) Financial functions which deals with revenue and expenditure management and contract

management, capital requirement, sources of funding, payment of bills, internal audit of

accounts

g) Branding and Marketing to increase the visibility of the system in the city and attract

passenger ridership

8.3 Observations and Recommendations

The MBMT structure presented in Figure 51 seems very skeletal with respect to the functions outlined

in the previous section. The functions listed in the section above are not catered to adequately by the

given organizational structure. Even though the current operations level is small with 68 buses, it is

expected to grow to more than 180 to 370 buses in the next 10 years. Also, under the current level of

operations, regular monitoring of services, infrastructure, and vehicles would require field staff which

is currently not present in the existing structure.

Though some of these functions are being covered by the operator using its own staff, independent

monitoring by MBMT is important.

8.3.1 Proposed Divisions and functions

Following above discussions, the main functions of MBMT are proposed to be grouped in four

divisions under the Transport Manager:

Division Main Functions

Operations

Division

Strategic and overall planning for Public Transport (PT) services in the

operational areas of MBMC.

Route network and operations planning and scheduling

Setting service quality standards and benchmarking the same

Managing bus permits and insurance related issues,

Monitoring service quality standards with reference to benchmarks,





penalty assessment and collection

On-line checking of Operations including service quality and ticketless

travel, etc.

Preparation of Operations related requirement for Private Operator (PO)

Preparation of Revenue Collection Agency’s specification / activities etc.

Revenue collection, maximization and prevention of leakages

Monitoring of public complaints and their redressal,

Managing operator grievances

Business Development for MBMT

Branding of PT services and communications

Marketing of PT services

ITMS contracts oversight and management mainly wrt:

o Vehicle tracking and event resolution

o Electronic Ticket Vending and Verification Machines (ETVMs)-

operations and ticketing, way-bill compilations and waybill data

analysis about services, revenues, etc.- route-wise, trip-wise, bus -

wise and conductor-wise for corrective actions

o Passenger Information system – on-board and off-board,

o Operations performance monitoring and control

Developing Management Information System (MIS) for monitoring and

control of operations and service quality delivery

Technical

Division Infrastructure (Depots, Bus Queue Shelters (BQSs) and Terminals) planning,

designing, acquisition, commissioning and handing over depots to Private

Operators (POs),

Repair and maintenance of BQSs and the terminals; and management of

terminals – in-house and or by outsourcing

Planning for plant and equipment in depot workshops, drawing up their

specifications etc. for acquisition by the PO

Monitoring of maintenance activities and upkeep of infrastructure facilities

Deciding on vehicle type, size and technology,

Bus fleet requirement planning, preparation of tenderable technical

specifications, setting standards for bus fleet quality and performance during

operations

Procurement of buses, revenue collection agency, ITS and marketing agency

and contract management

Preparation of RfP for procurement of POs / buses, bid process management,

and finalization of Suppliers / Operators

Inspection of buses, monitoring of bus repair and maintenance quality /

conformity of POs performance wrt fleet quality and infractions

Preparation of detailed end use requirement-based specification for ITMS

(Intelligent Transit Management System), RfP document, acquisition of

ITMS service provider complete with hardware, software, plant, equipment,

communications system, and the staff along with life-long repair and

maintenance services of the same.

Preparation of ITMS contracts, acquisition of service providers, oversight

and management mainly wrt:

o Performance and serviceability of ITMS, up-time, etc.

o Data collection, compilation, analysis and mining for all activities

of MBMT

o Preparation of detailed reports as per requirement of MBMT

periodically





Developing Management Information System (MIS) for monitoring and

control of operations as also other services

Preparation of detailed end-use requirement/ specifications of ETVMs, RfP

document for Revenue Collection Agency (RCA), acquisition of RCA along

with ETVMs and their repair and maintenance, staff for revenue collection,

etc. and overall revenue collection and management,

Carrying out of any and all other activities related to infrastructure, bus

fleets

Finance and

Accounts

Division

Financial planning and preparation of budgets,

Capital requirement planning and sources of funding,

Revenue collection and management,

Payment of bills, recovery of penalties etc. for service deficiencies, infractions

etc.

Record keeping and accounting

Cash handling and banking, payments,

Salary and wage administration,

Audit and other related activities

Preparation of all reports – statutory and others

Any and all other activities related to finance and accounts function of

MBMT.

Administration

and Personnel

Staff requirement Planning, acquisition, induction and capacity building,

Managing all staff matters, staff grievances, leave, career progression, labour

relations,

Handling all legal issues, taxes, insurance, rates and rents,

Managing auxiliary vehicles,

Arranging for offices, managing office infrastructure and the utilities

General and overall administration of MBMT, including security and

vigilance,

Offering secretariat services for the governing board/council of MBMT,

arranging meetings, preparing minutes of meeting, following up actions and

submission of action taken reports;

Coordination with MBMC and its various agencies,

Handling any and all other activities of MBMT wrt above functions

8.3.2 Bus Fleet

Rather than the city procuring a bus fleet and handing it over to the private operator for operations as

in the current scenario, it is proposed that the operators are invited to bid for operations and bring their

own buses as per specifications prescribed by MBMT. The operator would charge a Gross Cost rate

based upon the bus fleet cost, their repair and maintenance; operating and other staff; tools, jigs and

fixtures, plant and equipment for repair and maintenance of bus fleet; repair and maintenance of

infrastructure provided to PO; as also all other charges like insurance, registration, insurance, permit

fees, road tax, etc. This would not only save the government to budget for the capital costs for buses

and seeking funding support for procurement of the buses but also in ensuring integrated delivery of

bus fleet related services as also from passing the buck attitude for any defects / deficiencies occurring

in the provision of PT services.




8.3.3 ITMS

Intelligent Transit Management System (ITMS) consisting of equipment fitted on buses and in the

control room(hardware, software, communications, etc.), in depots, BQS, etc., to monitor the

performance of operations; passenger information system (PIS); data collection, compilation, analysis

and mining; preparation of MIS reports, etc . The on-board units and control room ITS systems help

in providing real-time operations data, which can help in assessing performance of the vehicles as

well as drivers across various parts of the city. Passenger Information System and ETM ticketing are

other components of ITS infrastructure providing useful service information to passengers and travel

patterns of passengers during different times of the day respectively. The city may opt for a third party

for design, procurement, operations and maintenance of the system and the control room, to aid

operations monitoring by the specialised agency.

8.3.4 Branding and marketing of services

Branding and marketing of the services using various means of communication is important to create

an attractive image of the buses and attract passengers to the bus services.

It is suggested to outsource communication to a Third Party who can help in publicizing improved bus

services to the existing and potential bus users. Information through print and web media on bus

services should be available to the users. A survey of existing and potential passengers to capture

barriers faced by non-users, expectations and performance perception would help in understanding

gaps in the services and areas of improvement.

8.3.5 Revenue collection

Since a Gross Cost Contract has been suggested, MBMT would hold the revenue risk and would be

responsible for collecting revenue. MBMT may outsource this function to a third party- a Revenue

Collection Agency (RCA). In this case, either the authority or revenue collection agency would have

to procure, owns and maintain equipment for revenue collection. For an integrated revenue collection

management, it would be appropriate that the RCA brings its own ETVMs, operates and maintains

them using its staff, etc. against certain payment finalised through a competitive bidding process.

While contracting out this function, it should be noted that the fare collection contract period should

preferably be the same as the serviceable life of the equipment.

8.4 Proposed Organisational Structure

Following above discussions, Figure 52 presents the proposed organizational structure for MBMT. In

comparison to existing structure, one significant change in existing positions – removal of Depot

Manager - is suggested. Other proposed changes are the creation of four divisions in all by integration

of functions based mainly upon type of expertise required combined in a function – namely

Operations, Technical, ITS, Administration and Finance. Since Gross Cost Contract is being

suggested, revenue management would be a major task, hence a separate Finance department would

be essential.




Overall staff requirement of MTBT is limited to 0.15 personnel per bus for upto 100 buses, whereafter

it may be limited to 0.10 per bus for up to 200 buses for all functions. Any further increase would be

based upon the workload.

The functions of the Transport Manager, Deputy Transport Manager and Heads of the four divisions

are as follows:

A. Transport Manager

Overall decision-maker, responsible for strategic decision making and overseeing operations and

planning for the bus services, coordination amongst different divisions, overall management and

control of PT services, etc.

A.1 Deputy Transport Manager

Assisting the Transport Manager in strategic planning and overall management of MBMT and all the

above functions.

A.1.1 Operations Manager

Responsibilities include oversight of system operators, operations supervisors, revenue collection,

performance monitoring etc. and are responsible for system operator contract oversight, management

and enforcement and oversight of maintenance of vehicles and other infrastructure.

A.1.2 Technical Manager

Responsible for technical functions and procurement. Decisions of vehicle type, size and technology

for procurement, fleet size, technical specification of buses, RfP preparation and bid process

management, inspection of buses, monitoring of bus repair and maintenance, contract management

A.1.3 ITS Manager

Responsible for IT contract oversight, management, and enforcement. She/he interacts with

operations departments and other divisions to assist in MIS reports for operations monitoring.

A.1.4 Manager Finance

Responsibilities include contract management, revenue and general accounting, smart cards related

tasks, and organizational budgets, grants and financial reports.

A.1.5 Manager, Administration

Responsibilities include administration, employee services, training, contracting marketing and

advertising of the bus services. She/he is responsible for housekeeping, advertisement contract

oversight, management and enforcement.




Figure 52: Proposed Organizational Structure

Transport Manager

Deputy Transport Manager

Operations Manager

Supervisor

Manager - Technical

Asst Manager Procurement/

Contract Mgmt

Supervisors (Corporate

office)

Asst Manager Mechanical

Supervisor (Depot)

Asst Manager

Civil

Supervisor (Corporate

office)

ITS Manager Asst Manager Supervisor

Manager Administration

Administration Assistant

Legal Affairs Assistant

Manager (Finance)

Asst Manager

Asst Accountant

Finance Assistant




Details of the positions and responsibilities, qualifications of staff under each proposed MBMT

division are presented below:

1. Operations & Technical

Position Responsibilities Qualifications

Asst Manager

Operations

Ensure efficient and effective operations through close

monitoring, responsible supervision, and sound timely

decision making.

Working under the direction of Manager- Operations, the

duties and responsibilities of the Assistant Manager

includes, but are not limited to, supervise and ensure smooth

transit operations.

Monitor all shelters and bus stops and equipment ensuring

that locations of shelters and signs are safe. Get repairs

and/or replacements when needed.

Monitor daily bus/bus operator schedules.

Monitor and review all revenue handling procedures and

security policies.

Bachelor Degree in

Automobile or

Mechanical

Engineering.

Relevant experience

of over 5 years

minimum.

Asst Managers

– Civil,

Mechanical,

Contract

Management

Oversight of maintenance related bus facilities

Oversee the technical assistant/field officer.

Inspect transit facilities such as stops, to identify necessary

repairs and maintenance and execute the same.

To ensure that the depot and vehicle upkeep with the

stipulations as per contract.

Conducting quality checks of the vehicles as well as depot

facilities and maintenance, monitoring of bus repair and

maintenance

Bachelor Degree in

Automobile or

Mechanical

Engineering.

Relevant experience

of over 5 years

minimum.

Supervisors

Supporting Civil, Mechanical and Procurement activities/tasks

Vehicle and Infrastructure inspections, monitoring maintenance

schedules etc.

Bachelor Degree in

Automobile or

Mechanical

Engineering

with minimum of 1

years of relevant

experience

Operations Manager

Supervisors (Depot)

Technical Manager

Asst Manager Procurement/Contract Management

services

Supervisors (Corporate office)

Asst Manager Mechanical

Supervisor (Depot)

Asst Manager

Civil

Supervisor (Corporate office)




2. ITS


Asst Manager

ITS

Provide support to the Deputy Transport Manager and IT

Manager in the oversight of maintenance and operation of

ITMS

Responsibilities include oversight of voice communications

for radio and telephone services as well as other special

services, maintenance and performance of servers, networks,

operating systems and all associated hardware that support

all functional areas of MBMT, ensuring that the contractor

reports are as per contract and has quality data.

Generation of MIS reports as required for operations

monitoring and service quality assessment

Other task as defined by IT manager

Bachelor’s Degree in

Information

Technology /

Computer Science or

a related field and at

least 5 years direct or

indirect experience in

ITS field.

Supervisor

Assist the Manager and Assistant Manager in overseeing

operation and maintenance of ITMS system

Diploma in

Electronics / IT with

minimum of 1 year of

relevant experience

3. Administration

ITS Manager

Asst Manager

Supervisor

Manager Administration

Administration Assistant

Legal Affairs Assistant (on retainership

basis)





Administration

Assistant To manage all administration and human resource

management functions

MBA with experience

of at least 5 years in

Human Resource

Management.

Legal Affairs

Assistant To manage all the legal affairs of MBMT

(This service may be outsourced by the Manager Administration on a

case to case basis and or some-one may be kept on retainership basis)

Degree in Law with at

least 5 years’

experience

4. Finance


Asst Manager

Finance

Assist Manager Finance in revenue and general accounting

and organizational budgets, grants and financial reports

Provide statistical and financial information for reports for

submission to the management

Monitor monthly revenues and assess budget variances;

liaison with different Divisions of the company on financial

trends and issues and recommends options and solutions.

Help in developing long term financial planning activities to

support strategic planning and funding decisions.

Create and develop improvements to financial management

practices, processes, systems, budgeting methods and

internal controls to improve efficiency and revenue leakages.

Ensure Payment of salaries/Payments due to contractors/

Payments for procurements and supplies

A Chartered

Accountant or a post-

graduate degree in

Commerce with a

minimum of 5 years

experience

Manager (Finance)

Asst Accountants (2 nos.)- Finance and

Accounts

Finance Assistant





Finance

Assistant

Support the finance division in matters of budget

preparation, monitoring of expenditure and revenues,

analyzing income expenditure trends, farebox revenue

management

Degree in Commerce

or a Bachelor of

Business

Management,

Chartered Accountant

with a minimum of 3

years’ experience

Asst

Accountant

Support the finance division in matters of monitoring of

expenditure and revenues, passing of bills, maintenance of

accounts, payment of taxes, payments to the operator and

Third Parties under the specified conditions, auditing of

accounts, preparation of balance sheets

Degree in Commerce

or a Bachelor of

Business

Management,

Chartered Accountant

with a minimum of 3

years’ experience

8.5 Summary

The existing bus operations in the city is very small, however as per the Business Plan for 2030,

estimated fleet size is 182 to 369 depending on the fleet mix. To ensure that a quality bus system is

delivered, apart from monitoring of the outcome, setting up of a process monitoring system is

essential. Depot level technical staff (Assistant Manager(s) with Supervisors) could undertake this

task of checking of service schedule preparation as per SLAs, regular maintenance of buses, etc, and

also help in ensuring coordination with operator, ITMS agency and revenue collection agency. A

process monitoring system along with outcome monitoring may prove to have a better effectiveness in

achieving delivery of quality services.

The overall staff requirement of MTBT can be limited to 0.15 personnel per bus for upto 100 buses,

where after it may be limited to 0.10 per bus. Creation of four divisions for operations, technical,

administration and finance are proposed. Since Gross Cost Contract is being suggested, revenue

management would be a major task, hence a separate finance department would be essential.

Depending on the fleet size and mix scenario, the manpower requirements would have to be worked

out. For e.g. in case of a standard bus scenario with a fleet size of 180, three divisions of operations,

technical and finance could be set up. In the initial phases, functions of administration could be

handled by MBMC by adding a dedicated administrative assistant and as fleet size increases, a

separate administration division under MBMTU could be added.

Depending on the fleet size and mix scenario, the manpower requirements would have to be worked

out. For e.g. the manpower requirement by 2030 in three shortlisted scenarios i.e. all standard buses,

standard – midi and midi – mini would be in the range of 24 to 42 depending up on the fleet mix

scenario that MBMTU selects.




9 Complementary Measures

Public transport is essential for the inclusive growth of Mira Bhayandar city and the bus is central to

the public transport offering intra-city connections as well as acting as a feeder to the rail services and

proposed metro network which would provide connectivity to other parts of the Mumbai Metropolitan

Region.

The city bus service is facing serious challenges. Poor service levels have impacted bus ridership and

have led to a shift to private modes as well as shared auto rickshaws. While the city is keen on

reforming the bus services and has a vision of “Making bus preferred mode of travel in Mira

Bhayandar”, other complementary measures would be required to help achieve the vision.

Congestion affects the reliability and accessibility of bus services. Without addressing major sources

of congestion, buses will continue to suffer delays, variability in journey times and declining

attractiveness.

Journey Time Variability: Congestion leads to journey times becoming less reliable, with

variations in journey time often much different from timetabled schedules.

Decreasing accessibility: Congestion lessens average bus speeds resulting in reducing

accessibility. As a result, fewer people can access locations in a reasonable journey time.

Decreasing attractiveness of bus: With increasing journey time variability and decreasing

accessibility, buses are at risk of further patronage decline if people decide they cannot rely on the

bus network. This also creates existential threats to bus services, where reduction in speeds leads

to fewer passengers further resulting in other motorized trips and creating more congestion.

Vulnerable groups rely significantly on the bus network, but issues including affordability,

accessibility and availability of bus services can act as major barriers to people accessing key

opportunities like employment and training. As the bus network is impacted, the most vulnerable

people are further disadvantaged. This in turn further contributes to a decline in their quality of

life, widening the social inequality gap.

This plan focuses on planning for a quality bus service for the city of Mira Bhayandar with

technological interventions to provide an integrated public transport. The objective is to develop a bus

network that works for everyone and decreases the need for private vehicular trips which in turn helps

to improve air quality in the region.

The focus will be to put in place a bus service that is flexible enough to adapt to changing travel

patterns and accommodating increases in travel demand in the short term. In the medium to long term,

the focus should be on interchange and integration which would aid in improving connectivity

between jobs, housing and education for the city residents.




9.1 Managing Road Congestion in Mira Bhayandar

Planning of frequent bus service in Mira Bhayandar would generate more bus movements on the

city’s roads, major junctions and bus station terminals in the near future. The existing road network

analysis (Figure 53) shows that the road widths in the city are narrow and with high traffic volumes

and encroachments, highly congested during the peak hours. Speed analysis from Google maps

reveals that the speed of vehicles during peak hours is 10-12 kmph at major roads in the city namely

Mira road, Mira station road, Bhayandar station road and Uttan road. Due to congestion, buses plying

through these roads would also be impacted, leading to increased travel times and reduced

accessibility levels.

Figure 53: Major congestion locations in Mira Bhayandar

1. Golden Nest Junction 2. Uttan Naka Road




3. Mira Road Station Bus Terminal 4. SK Stone

5. Bhayandar Station Road (W) 6. Bhayandar Station Road (E)

Figure 54: Images of the major congested locations in Mira Bhayandar

This situation will harm the performance of bus transport operations such as lower trip efficiency rate,

bus bunching, missed bus timings, etc. Hence, to avoid such issues in bus operations, major roads and

intersections can be intervened or developed. For example, from the google imageries in Figure 54

above Image (1) & (4) Golden Nest and SK Stone are major junction in the city which inflows and

deviates to every part of the city which indicates a junction level intervention for proper movement of

traffic. Whereas, from image (5) & (6), Bhayandar station roads are very narrow and therefore need a

road widening intervention or encroachment removal for ease in movement of buses in the public

transport network. Furthermore, in the image (3), it is seen the bus terminal requires a terminal level

intervention for speeding and smoothing up the arrival and departure of buses at the station.

9.1.1 Road network assessment on proposed routes

From the road network details, it is observed that around 24% of the total PT network is with

carriageway below 9 m, indicating insufficient road widths for operating standard buses. The majority

of Bhayandar West area has a carriageway width of less than 9 m and has heavy parking and vendor

encroachment due to major market areas. Hence, from the analysis of RoW along with the PT

network, it is recommended to operate midi/mini buses within the city for efficient system operations.

Details of the proposed route with carriageway width and average speed are mentioned in Table 62

below;




Table 62: Road network assessment on proposed routes

Routes Route Description Total Route

Length (km)

Route length under Carriageway

width range Avg.

Speed

(kmph)

Corridor with < 9m Carriageway

width less than

9 m 10 - 24 m

more

than 24m

MB1 Bhayandar Railway Station (W) - Chowk 13.6 84% 16% 0% 18.6 Uttan Road

MB11 B P Road - Ramdevnagar - Kashimira 7.2 24% 75% 1% 15.8 B P Road

MB12 Bhayandar Railway Station (E) - Mira Road

Railway Station – Kashimira 8.3 14% 77% 8% 15.3 B P Road

MB21 Mira Road Railway Station - Varsova Bridge –

Thane 29 15% 29% 56% 24.2 Hatkesh

MB30 Uttan Naka - Essel Pagode 11.5 100% 0% 0% 19.4 Uttan Road

MB31 Bhayandar Railway Station (E) - Varsova

Bridge – Thane 31.1 8% 39% 53% 21 Navghar Road

MB32 Bhayandar Railway Station (E) - Golden Nest –

Kashimira 10.5 5% 92% 3% 23 Navghar Road

MB33 Bhayandar Railway Station (E) - Mira Road

Railway Station - Dahisar Check Naka 7 66% 29% 6% 12.6 Station Road

MB34 Mira Road Railway Station - Navghar Phata 6.1 10% 51% 39% 18.3 Navghar Road

MB36 Mira Road Railway Station - Ramdev park 4.3 5% 79% 16% 9.3 Naya Nagar Road & NH School Road

MB37 Mira Road Railway Station - Oswal Garden 4.7 6% 68% 26% 10.7 Kanakia Road nr. Kanakia Park &

Ramdev Park Road

MB38 Mira Road Railway Station - Unique Garden 3.2 3% 59% 38% 13.5 Mari Gold Road

MB39 Mira Road Railway Station - Bhakti Vedanta -

Western park 6.2 15% 81% 5% 13 Vinay Nagar Road & Kashigaon Road

MB40 Mira Road Railway Station - Hatkesh 3.9 44% 38% 18% 13 Hatkesh Road

MB41 Bhayandar Railway Station (W) - Kashimira 15.6 0% 90% 10% 13.2 -

MB42 Bhakti Vedanta - Mira Road Railway Station -

Ramdev Park - Navghar Phata 8.5 32% 53% 15% 14.4

Navghar Road & New Ghodbunder

Road

MB45 Bhayandar Railway Station (W) - BP Road 6.6 100% 0% 0% 13.2 B P Road




Routes Route Description Total Route

Length (km)

Route length under Carriageway

width range Avg.

Speed

(kmph)

Corridor with < 9m Carriageway

width less than

9 m 10 - 24 m

more

than 24m

MB46 Bhayandar Railway Station (E) - Maxus Mall -

Uttan Naka 7.8 31% 63% 6% 13.6 Uttan Road

MB47 Navghar Phata - Bhayandar police station (W) 7.3 0% 100% 0% 12.2 Navghar Road

MB5 Bhayandar Railway Station (W) - Kashimira 8.4 7% 93% 0% 16.3 Mira Bhayandar Road

MB51 Bhayandar Railway Station (W) - Shantinagar –

Kashimira 9.2 11% 76% 13% 17.7 Dr. Baba Saheb Ambedkar Road

MB6 Uttan Naka- Manori Tar 19.8 64% 36% 0% 17.7 Uttan Road

It is observed from Table 62 above that many routes are operating on roads with lesser carriageway width for a significant length of the route. Those streets

are Navghar Road, Navghar Fatak Road, BP Road, Uttan Road, Kanakiya Road, Hatkesh Road, Mira Bhayandar Road and station Road. Existing situationa

encroachment is shown in images below;

Navghar Road: Connects Bhayandar Railway Station to Bhayandar East area with

mixed abutting landuse with residential & retail commercial. The road is heavily

encroached by parked auto rickshaws, vehicles etc.

Navghar Phatak Road: Connects Navghar Area to Mira Road at Golden Nest

circle. Major landuse is mixed use with residential & retail commercial. Also major

fish market is available in the area. The road is heavily encroached by parked

vehicles and vendors.




B P Road: Connects station road to navghar fatak road with carriageway width is approx. 6m. Due to mixed land use and availability of markets, there is heavy movement

of pedestrians along the road and is also encroached by vendors.

Uttan Road Nr. Bhayandar Police Station: the road connects uttan naka to

Bhayandar Rialway Station (W), the carriageway is undivided with a width of approx

9 m and is encroached by parked vehicles.

Kanakia Road towards Ramdev Park: The abutting landuse is majorly residential

landuse. The RoW is provided with footpath as well as the median. The

carriageway is encroached by parked vehicles.




9.2 Parking Management

Designated parking facilities for two-wheeler and auto-rickshaws are only available at major nodes

Mira Road and Bhayandar rail station, major commercial centers. Apart from that on-street parking is

observed along Kashimira road and other major roads in the city. Silver Road junction, Keshav Park

Police Chowki are occupied with parking spaces as can be spotted in the images shown in Fig 45

below.

In order to facilitate a shift from personalized modes of travel, “carrot and stick” measures would

have to be adopted. While improved service quality is important to attract passengers, regulation on

private traffic in terms of high parking charges or control on the availability of parking spaces would

be important to push people away from private to PT modes.

Kashimira Mira Station




10 Business Plan Summary

A detailed analysis of fleet size and type with respect to infrastructure requirements, cost and revenue

along with estimated PT mode shares was presented in section 5. This section summarizes the possible

scenarios for the business plan. Trajectory of vision realisation and the timeline is a function of

agency’s intent and drive along with constraints like financial resources and land availability for

infrastructure facilities. Alternative scenarios are hence presented as part of the business plan, which the

cities could choose from for deciding on an appropriate business strategy for bus services in the city.

10.1 Fleet size and mix

In terms of operating ratios and estimated mode shares, three fleet-mix scenarios seem to be performing

well. These scenarios along fleet type requirements by 2032 are mentioned in Table 63 below.

Table 63: Fleet-mix Scenarios

Scenario Total Fleet Size Additional Depot

Requirement Remarks

2A 182

(Standard buses)

1

(6.6 acre of land)

This scenario similar to existing fleet type

scenario with doubling the fleet in the next 10

years.

3

288

(24 Standard + 264

Midi)

2

(9.3 acre of land)

Almost 3 times of existing fleet size by 2030,

predominantly Midi buses would be able to target

15% of PT share.

4

369

(229 Midi + 140

Mini)

2

(11.2 acre of land)

Introducing about 38% Mini buses in city would

help to maintain the appropriate speed levels on

congested narrow streets.

10.2 Fleet Procurement Plan

Table 64 below presents the fleet procurement plan for total fleet by bus type for each shortlisted

scenario. The fleet procurement plan has been prepared considering the existing fleet would serve its

full life. Fleet utilisation has been taken as 93% for the first three years and 90% for the rest of the

years.

Table 64 Total fleet (on road + extra fleet) procurement plan – Fleet mix scenarios

Scenarios

2A 3 4

LF 60% (2030) LF 60% (2030) LF 60% (2030)

Standard Standard Midi Midi Mini

2023 35 4 45 33 20

2024 43 6 68 66 40

2025 0 0 0 0 0

2026 49 8 85 62 38

2027 0 0 0 0 0

2028 28 3 40 34 21

2029 0 0 0 0 0

2030 28 2 26 34 21

Buses by type 182 24 264 229 140

Total Buses 182 288 369




The target mode share of 20% -25% by 2030 would require significant quantitative as well as

qualitative improvements in the bus services. The city has re-introduced bus service with standard buses

in 2019 and should monitor the build-up of the ridership levels. Keeping in perspective the target PT

mode share over the next decade, the city may consider transitioning to midi/minibuses to be able to

offer high frequency services in order to induce a mode shift to buses. Also, measures like information

availability through apps and websites apart from at-stop information would help passengers plan their

journeys better.

Auto-rickshaws operating as shuttle service pose a big competition to the buses and facilitating a shift

from them would require buses which are affordable, frequent and easily accessible. With smaller bus

sizes (Midi / Mini), it would be possible to offer a high frequency service with better load factor levels.

In addition, these buses may have a much higher penetration in the congested city centre having narrow

roads (Bhayandar East).

The requirement of number of smaller buses would be more compared to requirement of standard buses

because of lesser capacity; however it is estimated that the operating ratios would improve due to the

potential of higher passenger ridership levels with better service headways and connectivity. The fleet-

type to be assigned on routes should be decided based on criteria such as passenger demand levels,

routes on narrow streets or in congested areas. Switching to a different bus type should not pose a big

challenge as the average age of a bus is 8-10 years and hence the transition could happen gradually as

old buses get phased out.

10.2.1 Depot requirements

Locations of new depots are important to plan in a way that does not lead to an increase in the non-

revenue km. Currently; MBMT has Ghodbunder Depot which has been recently constructed with

workshop and control centre facilities. It has about 45 standard buses capacity and as per route

rationalization study conducted in 2014, has proposed one depot near Uttan with a total capacity of 120

standard buses with about 7.5acre of land which is considered in this study as well. However with

business plan scenarios proposed fleet size would be ranging from 182 to 369 total buses in 2030, which

would require additional depot space for scenario 3 and 5A (refer Table 65). Additional depot strategic

location has been recommended near proposed metro depot location, which shall be close to both major

bus terminals would reduce down the non-revenue km.

Table 65: Depot area requirement for future

Scenario Scenario 2A Scenario 3 Scenario 5A

Total Depot Area Requirement (in acre) – 2030 9.08 11.77 13.71

Existing Depot Area available (in acre) at

Ghodbunder 2.5 2.5 2.5

Additional Area Requirement for Depots (in acre) 6.58 9.27 11.21

Additional number of Depots 1

(Uttan)

2

(Uttan +

additional

location near

metro depot)

2

(Uttan +

additional

location near

metro depot)

The non-revenue distance covered by a bus to travel from the depot to a terminal and back to the depot

from the terminal at the start and end of service hours is marked as dead kms. Minimizing dead kms is




an important consideration as it affects the operational cost. MBMTU operates a total fleet from its

newly constructed Ghodbunder depot plying on 13 urban and suburban routes. The trip start-stop of all

these routes are at terminals namely Mira road station, Bhayandar station (W), Bhayandar station (E)

and Uttan Nakka which are approximately 8-9 kms distant from Ghodbunder depot. This results in

860km of non-revenue km (dead kms) which is 6% of the daily operational bus kms. It also indicates

that MBMTU bears an average loss of 0.35 lakhs rupees daily and an average yearly loss of 1.5 crores

rupees for plying 66 buses in the system. In order to minimize this strategic planning for depot location

plays a vital role. The recommended location of the depot (Figure 55), fleet distribution and dead km

estimation for the three Business Plan scenarios are presented below:

Table 66: Fleet allocation to depots – shortlisted business plan scenarios

Total Buses Bus/

Type

Buses allocation to depots – 2030

Total buses Ghodbunder Depot Uttan Depot

Depot3

(near metro depot)

Scenario -

2A

Standard 55 127 0 182

Midi 0 0 0 0

Mini 0 0 0 0

Total 55 127 0 182

Scenario -

3

Standard 13 14 0 27

Midi 53 145 63 261

Mini 0 0 0 0

Total 66 160 63 288

Scenario -

4

Standard 0 0 0 0

Midi 51 118 78 246

Mini 23 56 44 123

Total 74 174 122 369

For the above fleet distribution (Table 66), % dead km, expense have been estimated for three

scenarios;

Table 67: Dead km and expense by scenarios

Dead km – FY2030

Scenario - 2A Scenario - 3 Scenario - 4

No of Routes 22 22 22

Number of on road buses 165 261 337

Dead kms 2163 2759 3256

% dead km minimized 5.6% 4.6% 4.3%

Avg. yearly expenditure (in cr.) – FY2030 ₹ 3.2 ₹ 4.1 ₹ 4.9




Scenario 2A – 182 standard buses

Scenario 3 – 288 standard & midi buses




Scenario 4 – 369 midi & mini buses

Figure 55: Depot locations and fleet distribution for FY2030

10.2.2 Drivers/Conductors halt facilities

Continuous driving leads to driver fatigue, hence driver should be provided with rest at regular

intervals. Driver’s facilities are hence provided at trip end locations with small office space, restrooms

and wash rooms. As per traditional practice, drivers and conductors take rest at major terminals, in case

of Mira Bhayandar providing halting facilities at Mira railway station and Bhayandar railways station

becomes difficult because of a congested area, therefore it has been proposed to provide basic facilties

at other ends of routes. Few locations of driver/Conductor halt facility proposed at Chowk Gaon /

Chowk Naka, Dahisar Checkpost, Ghoddev Naka, Hatkesh/Eden Bakery, Indralok Phase 2, Kashimira,

Ramdev Park, Royal College, Unique Garden and Western Park. The locations (presented in Figure 56

below) are tentative and may vary after site feasibility.




Figure 56: Locations with halt facilities

10.3 Capital Costs

Table 68 below presents the cost estimates for infrastructure development which would be required

from the years 2023-2030 for the shortlisted three scenarios. All the costs are estimated at constant

prices keeping 2020 as the base (escalation rates outlined in the cost estimates section).

Table 68: Total Capital Cost (in Cr.) Investment (2020 to 2030)

Total Infrastructure Cost

Components

2A 3 4

LF 60% (2030) All

Standard

LF 60% (2030)

Stand + Midi

LF 60% (2030) Midi

+ Mini

Bus Stops 28.47 28.47 40.73

Terminals 11.82 11.82 11.82

Depots cost (with land) 67.46 95.11 115.00

ETVM 1.19 1.90 2.43

Utilities & Recovery Vans – Depots 0.88 0.92 0.97

Capital Infrastructure Cost 110 138 171

Fleet cost 143 130 133

Total Cost 253 268 304

The overall investment for all three scenarios by 2030 would be around Rs.250 to Rs.300 crore, where

the cost of fleet i.e. around Rs.130 to Rs.143 may/ may not need to be borne by MBMTU depending

upon the operating model that MBMTU selects. The assumptions for the cost estimation are as

presented in Table 69 below:

Table 69: Cost Assumptions Cost heads Cost in INR

Bus stops (1 bay, 2 bay and 3 bays) 5 lakhs, 7 lakhs and 9 lakhs




Cost heads Cost in INR

Terminal (including bus shelters and seating area along with

bus bays)

500 Lakhs

Cost of driver, conductor facilities at route end terminals 10 lakhs

Cost of Depot including tools and equipment for 5 acre of land Rs.15 crore

Land cost for new depots (based on www.magicbricks.com)

however the land prices may vary also on the location and site

accessibility

Rs.15000 per sq yd

Electronic Ticketing Vending Machine (ETVM) Rs.25000 per each, considering 2.5

machines per bus

Utility van and recovery van One utility van per depot and one

recovery van for 2 depots have been

assumed and the cost considered is Rs.10

lakh and Rs.20 lakh each.

10.4 Operating Costs

The total operating costs vary from 940-1200 Cr over the plan period depending on the fleet mix

scenario opted are presented in Table 70.

Table 70: Operating cost for Scenario 2A, 3 and 4

Cost component \ Scenarios

Scenario 2A -

All Standard

Buses

Scenario 3 -

Standard +

Midi

Scenario 4 -

Midi + Mini

Fuel Cost 362.9 345.5 375.3

Lubricant Cost 5.4 5.2 5.6

R & M Cost 159.0 209.2 210.4

Insurance + MVT + MACT + RR Tax 17.4 16.5 16.1

Staff Cost 218.3 338.9 407.8

ITMS Operating Costs 9.0 9.2 9.4

Cost of Depreciation - Total 80.3 75.8 74.1

Cost of Fund - (Expected returns and Interests) 48.3 45.7 44.8

Miscellaneous Cost 41.7 48.4 52.6

Operational Cost (excluding cost of fund and

cost of depreciation) 814 973 1077

Total Cost 942 1095 1196

10.5 Revenue estimation

10.5.1 Proposed Fare Structure

The proposed fare structure is mentioned in Table 71.

Table 71: Proposed fare structure and comparison with existing bus and IPT fare

Distance Range

(km) Existing NAC Fare Existing AC Fare

IPT

Fare

Proposed Fare

(all NAC)

0 – 2 6 20 10 5

2 – 4 8 30 20 10

4 – 6 11 35 30 10

6 – 7 / 7 – 10 13/15 40 30 10/15

>10

17,18,19,20,21,

22,23,24,25,26


50,55,60,

70,75,80


15




The fare rates for each km slab shall be revised every two years based on following formula:

R = [R-base] + 1.2 X {[R-base x 0.5 x (F – F-base)/F-base] + [R-base x 0.5 x (W – W-base)/W-base]}

Where:

R is Applicable Kilometre Charge for the payment period

R-base is the Base Kilometre Charge

F is present Price of Fuel/unit

F-base is Base Year Price of Fuel/unit

W is the Present Year Wholesale Price Index and W-base is Base Year Wholesale Price Index.

Fares should be rounded off to the nearest rupee at time of revision.

Future WPI and future price of diesel have been projected using the past trends and the same has been

used for future fare revisions.

10.5.2 Estimated revenues

With proposed fare structure and revised fare mechanism, future revenue estimation build-up for

shortlisted three scenarios is as presented in Table 72 below; which is revenue after concession and

discounts for passengers; total estimated revenue is Rs.326 cr. for 10% PT share scenario, Rs.563 cr. for

15% PT share and Rs.732 cr. for 20% PT share.

Table 72 Farebox revenue estimation for fleet mix scenarios

Escalated Total

Infrastructure Cost

2A 3 4

LF 60% (2030) All

Standard

LF 60% (2030) Stand +

Midi

LF 60% (2030) Midi +

Mini

2023 17 19 20

2024 20 27 31

2025 29 45 57

2026 36 61 79

2027 46 81 106

2028 50 91 120

2029 63 117 156

2030 65 122 162

Total Revenue 326 563 732

10.5.3 Sources of Funding

The operating ratio for Standard, Midi and Midi-mini fleet scenarios is estimated to be 0.40, 0.58 and

0.68. Hence, the farebox revenues will not be entirely sufficient to recover the cost of the operation.

Identification and earmarking of alternative funding sources is important.

Innovating funding sources like green tax, parking charges can also be explored. For funds for depots

and terminals, developing these on a PPP basis can be explored. There is an opportunity for Mira

Bhayandar to develop terminals being in the city center. Similarly, depot land can also be developed

with high FSI to contribute more in non-fare box revenue. With such measures, non-fare box revenue

could be further increased which could be used for covering operating deficits and improving service

levels. Further, any operating deficits would have to be covered through Viability Gap Funding by the

Government of Maharashtra.




10.6 Operating Model

Given the current mode share of buses is around 4% and the existence of high latent demand, it is

important to deliver high-quality bus services to facilitate a shift to PT. The bus market would have to

be developed, understanding well that facilitating a shift towards PT from private transport is

challenging. It would therefore be important to put in place a frequent high-quality bus service in all

parts of the city in order to attract passengers. While doing so, revenue risk would need to lie with

MBMT, as passenger build-up may need time.

It is also important to note that while market is being developed, bus routes would need to be flexible

and may have to be tweaked based on the travel patterns of passengers. At the same time, while the new

routes are being introduced, the existing routes may have to be removed, modified, or gradually

withdrawn.

The current Net Cost Contract may not provide enough flexibility in such an evolving scenario. The

services would also need to be adapted due to uncertainties of demand, making it worthwhile to start

with a Gross Cost Contract. The progressive phased introduction of hybrid GCC model can be done

utilizing their experience on GCC model. One of the possibilities, therefore, could be that the current

contract is renegotiated based on the above considerations.

10.7 Management Structure

The existing bus operations in the city is very small, however as per the Business Plan for 2030,

estimated fleet size is 182 to 369 depending on the fleet mix. To ensure that a quality bus system is

delivered, apart from monitoring of the outcome, setting up of a process monitoring system is essential.

A process monitoring system along with outcome monitoring may prove to have a better effectiveness

in achieving delivery of quality services.

In comparison to existing structure, one significant change in existing positions – removal of Depot

Manager - is suggested. Other proposed changes are creation of four divisions in all by integration of

functions based mainly upon type of expertise required combined in a function – namely Operations,

Technical, Administration and Finance. Since Gross Cost Contract is being suggested, revenue

management would be a major task; hence a separate finance department would be essential.

Operations division: Any public transport agency requires planning of entire operations; the

division who plans strategic public transport system, connectivity, setting up service quality

benchmark, service frequency and schedules, the efficient use of ITMS system, affordable fare

decision, fare collection system, branding and marketing etc.

Technical division: It is mainly the engineering division who looks after entire infrastructure

facilities in the system, such as terminal building up, bus shelter construction, repair and

maintenance, traffic management, MIS for operations and quality control, deciding vehicle types,

fleet size estimation, etc. Depot level technical staff (Assistant Manager(s) with Supervisors)

would also be needed for checking of service schedule preparation as per SLAs, regular




maintenance of buses, etc., and also help in ensuring coordination with operator, ITMS agency

and revenue collection agency.

Finance and account division: In GCC operations, this department has a vital role, it has to

manage finance, preparing budgets, revenue collection, keeping financial records and preparing

annual reports, salary & wages records and revisions, audit activities etc.

Administration and personnel: Responsibilities of this department are planning and recruiting

new staff, and staff related activities, human resource planning, handling legal issues, labor

relations etc.

Overall staff requirement of MTBT is limited to 0.15 personnel per bus for up to 100 buses, where after

it may be limited to 0.10 per bus for all functions. Depending on the fleet size and mix scenario, the

manpower requirements would have to be worked out. For e.g. in the initial phases, three divisions of

operations, technical and finance could be set up and functions of administration could be handled by

MBMC by adding a dedicated administrative assistant and as fleet size increases, a separate

administration division under MBMTU could be added.

10.8 Other Measures

Improvising bus services alone will not be enough for enabling a shift towards PT. Several

complementary measures would be required to facilitate the shift. The use of private vehicles in the city

has been increasing rapidly, owing to higher income levels along with inadequate service level of the

bus system. In order to attract passengers to the bus system, apart from putting in place a good quality

bus system, marketing and branding is crucial to improve the overall image of the bus system. Some of

the possible measures could be targeted marketing campaigns, color branding of routes, awareness and

sensitization towards sustainable transport modes.

A thorough market study should be undertaken to understand user requirements and develop targeted

marketing campaigns. Simplification of service improves user friendliness and thus apart from the route

changes, colour coding of different bus routes and branding of the same may also help in creating

different identities of different routes. Organising car-free days, free rides for students during certain

hours, lower fares in off-peak periods are all measures which would help attract non-regular users and

familliarise them with the bus services in the city. In addition, the provision of accurate and reliable

real-time information to existing and potential users is also important in improving the visibility of the

system and building trust in the MBMTU. A variety of options could be used for sharing the

information. Apart from the route, service and fare information at bus stops and terminals, websites and

apps could also be developed.

Apart from a comprehensive marketing strategy, a phased implementation of new bus routes has to be

undertaken. New buses should be gradually inducted on new routes to allow for the development of

demand. At the same time, modification and removal of the old routes should be done with prior

information and supported with alternative route details.




Prioritizing buses on road such that the delays during travel could be minimized, would help in making

the services reliable. Discussions with local authorities could be undertaken for prioritizing of bus

services at junctions along with control on private vehicle usage on highly congested routes.

To facilitate a shift from personalized modes of travel, “carrot and stick” measures would have to be

adopted. While improved service quality is important to attract passengers, regulation on private traffic

in terms of high parking charges or control on the availability of parking spaces would be important to

push people away from private to PT modes.

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