MUMBAI, May 10 -- While Mumbai locals are celebrated as the city's "lifeline", millions across the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) depend on shared autorickshaws to complete the final stretch of their daily commute. Yet 15 years after shared autos began operating in the city, the network remains poorly regulated. A three-year exhaustive study conducted by The Mumbai Living Lab, a research-based initiative focused on improving urban mobility, in collaboration with Columbia University in New York, has found that nearly 13 million passengers use shared autorickshaws daily across Mumbai and the MMR. The study recommends urgent formalisation of the system through notified routes, mandatory fare displays, passenger monitoring and safer operating mechanisms. Researchers studying Nalasopara East found that nearly 1 million to 1.2 million people in the neighbourhood alone rely on shared autos every day for last-mile connectivity, underscoring the scale of dependence on a transport system that continues to operate in the shadows. "During our three-year study, we found that 18,000 autos ply on 21 routes on a shared basis. The system remains largely informal; these vehicles offer fares as low as Rs.10, roughly one-third the cost of a metered base fare. There are however issues in operating this system," said a researcher from The Mumbai Living Lab. The report stated that 70% of informal settlements still face transport deficits, with many residents forced to walk for over an hour merely to reach a road where an autorickshaw may be available. "The government should first create a mechanism where over seating of passengers is prevented as in case of an accident, neither the driver nor the passenger can claim insurance," said another researcher. The legally permissible passenger limit in an autorickshaw in Mumbai is three passengers, excluding the driver. Researchers found the shared auto ecosystem surprisingly sophisticated despite operating outside formal planning systems. A seminar on the ecosystem and operating model of shared autorickshaws will be held on May 10 alongside an exhibition at the Bajaj Art Gallery in Nariman Point, Churchgate, which will continue till May 17. Sources said formalising the system could enable route-based regulation, electric charging infrastructure, designated waiting areas, passenger safety mechanisms, fare boards and route maps. The study found an average shared auto driver in Nalasopara works nearly 14 hours daily, seven days a week, earning about Rs.24,000 monthly, much of which goes towards fuel, maintenance, permits and repairs. "We have been telling the drivers not to ferry more than permissible yet they barely listen," said Thampy Kurien, auto union leader, adding that 20-25% of shared autos operate illegally....