MUMBAI, June 13 -- The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) and World Resources India's (WRI) 'Friday Public Transport Day' initiative in Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC), exposed critical gaps in the last-mile connectivity, especially outside the Metro-3 station, and entry and exit points of the city's busy business district, which has a daily footfall of 2 to 2.5 lakh. The premier commercial hub houses multinationals, foreign consulates and high-end restaurants. Despite BEST adding nine extra buses to its fleet of 33 that regularly plies between Bandra and Kurla via BKC, and Cityflo re-routing 36 buses through the metro station, charging between Rs.9 and Rs.29 per seat, commuters faced massive transit shortfalls. Many of them sweltered under the harsh sun, with daytime temperatures hitting 35 degree Celsius, as they weighed options of whether to walk or haggle with autorickshaw drivers who refused short rides. "We have been waiting for an autorickshaw for quite some time but drivers are insisting on running on share-basis, demanding Rs.30 per seat, whereas the going rate is Rs.20. My colleague and I took the local from Thane to Kurla, and now we are stuck," said an officegoer who works at a multinational firm in BKC and drives to work from Thane every day, with his colleague. "There is no shade on the footpath, where we can take a breather. Walking from the Kurla station to our office in BKC in this heat has become a challenge," added the co-worker. Another professional who drives from Chembur to BKC every day, swapped his car for a bike for the day, "envisaging these problems with public transport". "Apart from re-routing our buses, we doubled our capacity on our metro feeder route from six to 12, and yet we fell short as the demand for public transport went up by 154%, compared to last Friday," said a spokesperson for Cityflo. "Cityflo runs 100 buses from different parts of MMR to BKC every day. We are planning to add another 50 over the next two months." A BEST official added, "We operated four extra buses from Kurla and Dharavi depots to BKC in the first half. We had stationed officers at key transit points, including Bandra and Kurla stations during the morning peak hours, and at BKC in the evening to monitor passenger demand, based on which we will take a call if more buses need to be added in the future." On the other hand, an MMRDA official noted, "Many people seemed to have left their vehicles and commuted by aggregator cabs. The total vehicles on the road may have dropped by 5-7% based on the inputs from parking lot operators." This was reflected in the fuel sales. "There was a 10% dip in petrol sales in the morning, but as the day progressed, CNG and petrol sales remained unchanged," said Murtuza Nullwala, a petrol pump dealer in BKC. While fewer private cars were seen on the road, aggregator cabs ran as usual, witnessed the HT correspondents who spent a couple of hours in the morning and evening at Kurla and BKC. During the evening peak hours, all arterial exit roads from the business district had vehicular congestion, and office goers struggled to get a transport. It was just another day in BKC. People in the know of things in MMRDA said companies with offices in BKC have been asked to tie-up with bus services for their employees. More than 70 companies and organisations were requested to participate in the 'Friday Public Transport Day' of which Bharat Diamond Bourse, SEBI, Insurance Institute of India, SIDBI, Naman Group and Association of Members of G-Block were forthcoming. MMRDA is also planning to build all-season shaded pathways on footpaths inside BKC. Speculating on the future of such a drive, Maninder Purewal, who works in BKC, posted on X: "Public transport adoption is important. But imagine asking a client visiting your BKC office-where companies pay premium rents-to take an auto for the authentic Mumbai experience. Businesses invest heavily in these locations expecting convenience and seamless connectivity. The goal should be to build public transport so efficient that people choose it willingly, not because they're expected to adjust. Sustainability works best when practicality comes along for the ride."...