COMMUNICATIONS

PUBLIC TRANSPORT

State Transport.

In the absence of any railway in this district, except the few miles of Central Railway from Neral to Karjat and a little onwards, road transport has been the principal means of inland passenger transport. With the advent of automobile vehicles a network of road communications was developed, and there emerged a number of private bus owners who rail services between distant places. But their working was far from satisfactory. Consequent upon the very keen competition which existed among the private bus owners, the business soon became uneconomic, and the standard of the services was poor. Necessary amenities were not provided to the travelling public and rules of safety were hardly observed. In order to fetch better returns they very often used to accommodate a number of excess passengers and caution in driving was by no means frequent. Injury to life and limb became regular occurrences. The travelling in private buses became an hurdle. Life was always in jeopardy. Incidents of buses overturning due to rash driving were frequent and passengers suffered bodily and monetarily. The relations between employers and employees were also strained because of the poor wages the employees got.

This state of affairs was incompatible with the ideals of a Welfare State. Hence, the then Government of Bombay embark ed on a policy of nationalisation of road transport, and set up a statutory public corporation called the Bombay State Road Trans-port Corporation in 1949. For administrative convenience, the entire State was divided into divisions, which covered one or more districts.

The nationalisation of passenger services in Thana division, which covered Kolaba district, was started in April, 1950 with head-February, at Bombay. The headquarters were shifted to Thana in February, 1957.

The statement given below indicates the various routes in operation, route mileage, frequency of 'Up' and 'Down' trips and the average number of passengers travelled per day per trip in this district. Some of the routes are inter-district routes, and as such pass through other districts in the division: -

TABLE No. 8

 STATE TRANSPORT ROUTES IN KOLABA AS IN 1959.

TABLE No. 8-contd.

STATE TRANSPORT ROUTES IN KOLABA AS IN 1959-contd.

Amenities for Passengers.

The State Transport plies spacious and well-ventilated buses, Amenities to and convenience of passengers are carefully looked after. Overcrowding is not permitted. Facilities for booking and reservation are made available at important bus stations such as Panvel, Pen and Mahad, which are also well-equipped with decent and spacious waiting rooms, refreshment rooms, fruit stalls and sanitary arrangements. The Mahad and Panvel stations are equipped with rest-houses and spacious platforms. The bus stands at Alibag, Goregaon, Khopoli, Nagothana and Roha come next as regards the amenities to passengers, such as waiting rooms, canteens, sanitary arrangements and booking offices. In addition there are waiting rooms at the bus stops at Dharamtar, Indapur Karjat Pali, Revdanda, Tale, Uran and Wadkhal.

On special occasions like fairs and melas extra buses are provid-ed. A box containing first-aid equipment is kept in every bus and the conductor is trained in first-aid methods.

Goods Transport.

In early 1953, the State Transport authorities of Thana division decided to undertake transport of goods. During the course of the year the undertaking expanded considerably. The divisional authorities entered into a number of casual contracts for goods transport, the important among them being the transport of timber at Panvel and transport of material required for construction of the bridge at Dharamtar. They also entered into contracts for the transport of material for road construction at Panvel and building materials. They were, further, party to the contract for transportation of food-grains on behalf of Government.

The State Transport authorities in this division have established a reputation in this field of activity. The system of booking parcels and their delivery is well-suited to the requirements of the customers. This activity is, however, slack in the monsoon.

Welfare Activities.

The State Transport authorities also undertake to provide for the welfare of their staff. Under the housing scheme ten residential quarters have been constructed at Panvel. Sports are encouraged and money is allocated every year for the recurring expenditure towards the purchase of sports material. Arrangements have been made for indoor and outdoor games such as chess, carrom, volley-ball and badminton at all the units. Annual sports meets are held and the employees participate in the zonal and inter-zonal sports.

There is a dispensary at the headquarters of the division to provide medical aid to the employees and their families.

Quarterly bulletins in Marathi are published and issued gratis to the employees. A library is provided at the divisional office at Thana and also at Panvel and Mahad. There are reading rooms at all depots. Radio sets are installed at Panvel and Alibag depots.

The State Transport Workers' Union, affiliated to the Indian National Trade Union Congress, is recognised by the State Trans-port Corporation as a union for seeking redress of the workers' grievances.

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