In a bid to woo backpackers in the city, the Maharashtra Tourism Department Corporation (MTDC) is contemplating starting hop-on-hop-off buses soon
Dr Jagadish Patil, MD, MTDC, said, “The hop-on-hop-off bus will be introduced in three circuits — two in South Mumbai and one for the Kanheri caves. We have floated expressions of interest to appoint a Project Management Consultant (PMC), and will give them two weeks time to submit their bids. Once the PMC is finalised, it will take a month to come up with a financial model that will be taken tou00a0
the BEST.”
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Patil added that the dedicated buses would be air-conditioned, and would be available every 30 minutes or one every hour. We are also trying to involve management of destinations so that can include entry fee of all the places in the route on the bus fare,” he added.
Meanwhile in a meeting with the representatives of travel and hotel industry, the corporation has decided to develop tourism circuits in Mumbai. “We have been asked by the officials to present a presentation of places that we think should be part of itinerary,” said an hotelier.
Did you know?
Hop-on-hop-off service has already been started in the capital. In Delhi, one can explore 13 sites using the facility.
BEST behaviour
Following the Delhi gang rape incident, the BEST administration has decided to make night travel safer for city women. The BEST will identify bus shelters that don’t have sufficient lighting, are located in secluded areas, and are infested with urchins, drug addicts and hawkers.
“We will be identifying all the bus stops that need improvement, and will ensure that necessary steps are taken by March 31,”
A Tamboli, senior spokesperson of BEST.
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