Will the Sea Link bridge toll gap?

Toll agency revises annual target from Rs 90 crore to Rs 60 crore, as only 33,000 cars take the BWSL every day

Will the Sea Link bridge toll gap?

Toll agency revises annual target from u00a0u00a0Rs 90 crore to Rs 60 crore, as only 33,000 cars take the BWSL every day

If the current traffic flow on the Bandra-Worli Sea Link (BWSL) persists, then the toll agency Mumbai Entry Point Private Limited (MEPL) may not meet expected profits.

Only 30,000-33,000 vehicles use the bridge per day, whereas the expected figure was at least 45,000-50,000. Due to this, the expected annual toll-income has dropped to Rs 60 crore from Rs 90 crore.
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It means a heavy loss for the MEPL, as it has to pay the MSRDC Rs 74.9 crore.
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J D Mhaiskar, MD, MEPL, said, "Traffic on the bridge is not as per our expectations, but we will reassess it after some time."
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A toll naka manager agreed that the traffic was nothing as compared to the days when the Sea Link was toll-free.
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"There is a constant flow of traffic, but we had higher expectations. If this persists, the agency will suffer huge losses," he said.

'Not our problem'

Another drawback for the agency is that their contract is valid only for a year. "We are not concerned whether the agency makes a profit.

They will have to pay us as per the contract," said Vivek Ghanekar, superintendent engineer (BWSL), MSRDC.
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The agency has already paid the MSRDC a deposit of Rs 23 crore. However, the agency is hopeful that more people will use the bridge.

"We cannot increase the toll charges for the next one year," said Ghanekar.

Hopeful

Nitin Bansode, manager MEPL, was unable to point out a specific reason for the slow response. "It hardly takes a minute to issue the tickets and commuters don't have to wait too long.
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It is likely that commuters fear the bridge will be congested. We except the traffic to increase in the coming days." MEPL handles all the entry points (toll nakas) for Mumbai, including Mulund, Dahisar, Vashi and Airoli.

Rs 74.9 cr
The amount MEPL has to pay MSRDC

Free Days

The sea link was opened to public on July 1 and was toll-free till July 5. There was bumper-to-bumper traffic then, as around 2 lakh commuters used it every day. Commuters even waited in long queues to be the first ones to take the free joy ride.