Western Railway plans to introduce a prepaid taxi and auto-rickshaw service at six major Mumbai stations to protect passengers from arbitrary fares and disputes outside station premises. The first phase will cover Mumbai Central, Dadar, Bandra Terminus, Borivali, Virar and Palghar.
The railway is expected to begin the tendering process and work on setting up prepaid booths at the selected stations soon. These stations receive large numbers of passengers arriving on long-distance trains, making the availability of regulated last-mile transport particularly important after passengers leave the railway premises.
Under the proposed system, passengers will approach a counter or booth outside the station and provide their destination. The fare will then be calculated on a computer based on the distance, after which the passenger will receive a receipt. Once the fare is paid, the passenger will be directed to a taxi or auto-rickshaw waiting in a queue.
The arrangement is intended to reduce disputes over meter fares and prevent drivers from demanding arbitrary amounts. According to the report, passengers currently face difficulties when some drivers refuse to operate by the meter or quote inflated fares. During rain and festival periods, some drivers allegedly demand two or three times the usual amount.
The reported problems have a greater effect on passengers unfamiliar with Mumbai’s transport system, including women, elderly people and visitors arriving from outside the city. A prepaid mechanism would allow passengers to know the fare before starting the journey, while a designated queue could create a more orderly connection between railway stations and surrounding neighbourhoods.
Western Railway Chief Public Relations Officer Vineet Abhishek said the tendering and booth-installation process would begin soon. He said the prepaid service would initially be introduced at the six selected stations and could be extended to other stations if the experiment proves successful.
The operation of the booths is expected to involve coordination with the traffic police and the Regional Transport Office. The report did not specify the proposed fare schedule, the agency that will receive the tender, the number of vehicles to be deployed or the expected start date of the service.
The plan also reflects the administrative complexity of providing last-mile transport at Mumbai’s busiest rail gateways. Railway authorities control station premises, while vehicle regulation and enforcement involve the traffic police and the RTO. The effectiveness of the system will therefore depend on coordination among these agencies as well as on the availability of sufficient space for booths, queues and waiting vehicles.
Central Railway CPRO Dr Swapnil Nila said prepaid taxi services were already operating in Nagpur and Pune. He added that the facility had not yet started at Mumbai stations because of space constraints. Central Railway would consider a proposal if one was submitted, according to the report.
Western Railway’s next step is to issue the tender and begin the process of installing the prepaid booths at the six stations. Any expansion to additional stations will depend on the outcome of the first phase.
