The Maharashtra government’s toll waiver policy has led to a noticeable reduction in traffic on Mumbai’s Atal Setu, officially known as the Atal Bihari Vajpayee Sewri-Nhava Sheva Atal Setu. The policy, which eliminated the INR 45 toll at the five entry points of Mumbai ahead of the state assembly elections, has led to a decline in the number of vehicles using the 21.8-kilometre-long sea bridge.
According to data released by the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA), traffic on the Atal Setu, India’s longest sea bridge, has witnessed a steady decline. The number of vehicles crossing the bridge decreased from 7,14,213 in September to 7,07,104 in October, and further to 6,67,803 in November. Similarly, the daily toll-paying traffic fell from 23,807 in September to 22,809 in October, and 22,260 in November. An official from MMRDA attributed the decrease in traffic during October and November to the Diwali holiday season, but the effect of the toll waiver cannot be overlooked. The policy, introduced in October just a month before the Maharashtra assembly elections, aims to reduce tolls for light vehicles, which could have contributed to this shift in traffic patterns.
Between January 13 and August 26, a total of 5,004,350 vehicles, including buses from Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST), Navi Mumbai Municipal Transport (NMMT), and the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation’s (MSRTC) Shivneri services, crossed the bridge. The peak traffic period occurred in January, immediately after the bridge’s opening, with a high of 520,652 vehicles between January 13 and 31, averaging 27,403 vehicles daily.
The Atal Setu, which cost INR 17,843 crore to construct, was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on January 12, 2024, and opened to traffic the following day. Designed to ease the travel time between Mumbai and Navi Mumbai, the bridge has become a crucial part of the city’s infrastructure, linking Sewri in South Mumbai with Nhava Sheva in Navi Mumbai. Despite the drop in traffic due to the toll waiver, the bridge remains a vital route, offering a quicker alternative to the existing toll roads like the Mulund-Airoli, Mulund-Thane, and Mankhurd-Vashi routes. The toll waiver policy, introduced ahead of the elections, has had a significant impact on the traffic flow, but as the government works to implement further infrastructure changes, it remains to be seen whether this will have a long-term effect on the Atal Setu’s traffic numbers.
