It has been a rather smooth ride for motorists travelling on the Bandra Worli Sea Link, but the toll collection agency is virtually weathering a storm.The daily collections on the Bandra Worli Sea Link is falling short of break-even by nearly Rs4 lakh. Almost two months to the date of inauguration, the 4.7-km bridge is not attracting as many motorists as the authorities would like.
According to toll data available with DNA, 14,93,225 vehicles have used the sea link in these 58 days since it began operating commercially on July 5. Mumbai Entry Point Ltd (MEPL), the toll operator, is already worried since its daily average collection does not peak beyond a little over Rs16 lakh as against the requirement of Rs20 lakh. No wonder the operator is having palpitations, because irrespective of the collections, it has to deposit Rs74.9 crore with the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation at the end of 52 weeks.
The quick-fix solution to the problem could mean that the traffic may not be as smooth — the operator is in talks with Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport Undertaking (BEST), as a result of which 300 BEST buses are likely to take the sea link daily from now on.
“In the past two months, we have tried several tricks to make the bridge more and more popular among the city motorists. However, we are falling short of the required numbers. We were in talks with the BEST officials and wanted the buses to take the sea link so that we cross the daily break even requirement of Rs20 lakh. We expect the buses to take the sea link by this week,” MEPL director Jayant Mhaiskar said.
As per Mhaiskar, the Rs75 return pass, which is most popular among motorists, seems to have caused a lot of damage. “Most motorists are opting for a return pass rather than a Rs 125 daily pass for unlimited rounds within 24 hours or a monthly pass of Rs2,500 for 50 rounds. What this means is every time when a motorist buys a return pass, we lose Rs25. To reduce this loss, we have to run more number of vehicles — one of the ways is to allow the BEST buses,” said Mhaiskar. BEST general manager Uttam Khobragade confirmed the development. “We are thinking of plying our buses on the sea link. The formal decision will be taken shortly,” he said.
MEPL had earlier offered to allow BEST buses on the sea link with a monthly pass of Rs 5,000 per bus per month (Rs150 a day). However, BEST officials had offered a rate of Rs3,000 per bus per month which comes to Rs100 per day. Other efforts on the part of MEPL such as advertising, marketing the sea link and offering discounts on the pass did not yield the expected results, as per Mhaiskar.
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