Yes! Autorickshaws must be driven out of Mumbai limits as cited by the transport minister not just to reduce pollution and fatal accidents, but for a more urgent reason that Mumbai needs. That for reducing road density for easing traffic flow and improving public Bus Service.

Look at it this way. Where eight autos are lined up, two in a row, a BEST bus of the present size can easily be accommodated. The carrying capacity of the 8 autos is 24 persons and that of a bus would be around 60 persons. So, remove these autos and replace them with public transport buses, and the traffic density would be reduced, as more persons can be transported by a single bus as compared to many more autos required to do the same job. What about those 8 autorickshaw drivers who will be thrown out of jobs? Let the buses be plied in three shifts. Out of these 8 drivers, 6 can be trained as drivers and conductors and absorbed in these shifts and the remaining 2 can be put on maintenance and on other operation work.

Once the density of small capacity vehicles on the road is eased, BRTS bus service will also get a boost for implementation. On the fuel usage front too there would be immense savings as consumption would be for one unit of bus against eight units of Autos, after allowances are made for different mileages. One can also plan for Air Conditioned buses at a moderate fare within city limits that will help wean away cars and ensure lesser density for the traffic to ease out, without Rickshaws to obstruct traffic flow. Since buses don’t halt for more than a few seconds for entry and alighting of passengers, obstruction to traffic is minimal.

There are 95000 autos in Mumbai. Substituting one bus for every eight autos would mean11850 buses can be accommodated o the streets of Mumbai. Even if 50 % of this potential is activated it would mean an addition of a massive 5928 buses, which would alleviate the transport woes for decades.

The transport experts should give a thought to the idea of substituting BEST buses for the ubiquitous autos and these autos should be transformed from a necessary evil in Mumbai city to a convenient and reliable mode of transport at the outskirts of  Mumbai.