Ask a Mumbaikar where they live and the next question is almost always how long it takes them to get to work. The answer tells you more about their life than the flat itself. Two hours a day in transit is common. Three is not unusual. Over a working life that adds up to years, spent standing in a train, sitting in traffic, or waiting for a bus that has decided not to come.
I have tried most of the ways of getting around this city, some by choice and some by necessity. None of them is perfect, but the commute can be made better with a little knowledge and, more importantly, a little planning before you sign a lease.
The local trains
The suburban railway is the city's spine. It runs on three main corridors: the Western line from Churchgate northwards through the western suburbs, the Central line from Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus towards Thane and beyond, and the Harbour line serving the eastern side and Navi Mumbai. The Trans-Harbour line connects Thane with Navi Mumbai. Trains run from very early morning to past midnight, and there is nothing else in the city that moves as many people as quickly.
The basic distinctions to learn early:
- Slow and fast trains. Slow trains stop everywhere; fast trains skip stations and run on separate tracks. Check which you are boarding. The indicator boards on the platform show the destination, whether it is fast or slow, and the number of coaches.
- First class and second class. First-class passes cost several times as much as second class, and the carriages are less crowded but not uncrowded at peak hours. For many regular commuters it is still worth it.
- Ladies' compartments. Every train has compartments reserved for women, in both classes. They are marked on the train and, usually, on the platform.
- AC locals. Air-conditioned trains now run on the Western and Central lines, with their own, higher fares. They are fewer than ordinary trains, so check the timetable, but on the routes they serve they change the experience entirely.
Then there is peak direction. In the morning, the crush runs towards south Mumbai and the business districts; in the evening, it runs the other way. If your commute goes against the flow, you may find a seat at eight in the morning. If it goes with the flow, you will learn the local art of boarding, which involves positioning, timing and a certain calm assertiveness. Do not try to board a moving train, and do not hang from the door, however many people you see doing it.
Tickets and passes
For most regular commuters, a season pass is far cheaper than daily tickets. Monthly and quarterly passes are available for a fixed route and class, and the savings are substantial compared to buying singles. Railway fares are revised from time to time, so check the current rates at the counter or in the app.
Indian Railways' RailOne app, which this year replaced the older UTS app for unreserved tickets, lets you buy single journey tickets and season passes on your phone, which spares you the ticket-window queue. Mobile ticketing has generally used your location and restricted booking once you are inside the station, so buy your ticket before you walk onto the platform. Ticket checkers do operate, and travelling without a valid ticket, or in first class on a second-class ticket, will cost you a fine.
The Metro
For years the Metro was a single line, Versova to Ghatkopar, which is still one of the most useful east-west links in the city for anyone crossing the suburbs. It has since been joined by, among others, Lines 2A and 7 serving the western suburbs, and Line 3, the Aqua Line, running underground from Colaba through the island city to Aarey, which has finally given south Mumbai and the airport corridor an air-conditioned alternative to the roads.
More lines are under construction across the region, and the network will look quite different in a few years. For now, the Metro is excellent where it runs and irrelevant where it does not, so look at the map for your specific journey. The interchanges with the suburban railway matter a great deal: a Metro line that meets your local station can shave a long auto ride off the day.
BEST buses, autos and taxis
BEST, the city's bus operator, runs an extensive network across Mumbai, including air-conditioned and electric buses and a new generation of electric double-deckers on some routes. Buses are slower than trains at peak times, because they sit in the same traffic as everyone else, but they reach places the railway does not, and for short trips they are cheap and often pleasant. BEST also offers its own passes, and its app shows live bus locations on many routes, which removes much of the guesswork.
Autorickshaws operate in the suburbs but not in the island city; south of roughly Bandra and Sion, you will need a black-and-yellow taxi or an app cab. Share autos, which run fixed routes from stations to nearby neighbourhoods at a per-seat fare, are the unsung heroes of the suburban commute. Learn the share auto queue at your station and you will save both money and a walk in the rain.
App cabs are useful for late nights, heavy bags and monsoon days, but relying on them for a daily cross-city commute is expensive and, at peak hours, often slower than the train.
Choosing where to live around the commute
This is the part I wish someone had told me before my first lease. In Mumbai, where you live should be decided at least as much by the commute as by the flat.
A few principles that have served me and friends well:
- Map the whole door-to-door journey, not just the train. A flat ten minutes from a station is a very different proposition from one that needs a twenty-minute auto ride in traffic to reach it.
- Try the commute at the actual hour you will make it, before you sign. A route that looks fine on a Sunday afternoon can be brutal at 8.45 on a Monday.
- Living near a starting station, or one early on a line, makes a real difference to your chances of a seat.
- Consider direction. A reverse commute, living in the south and working in the suburbs or vice versa against the peak, can be surprisingly civilised.
- Weigh the monsoon. Some stretches of road and some stations flood reliably in heavy rain. Ask neighbours which ones.
A slightly smaller flat, or a slightly higher rent, is often worth it if it saves you an hour a day. That hour is yours, every day, for as long as you live there.
Making peace with it
The commute will never be the best part of Mumbai life. But it is not only a cost. I have read more books on the Western line than anywhere else, and some of my clearest thinking happens looking out of a train door at the backs of buildings rushing past. People form friendships in the same compartment over years, sing bhajans together on the evening train, and share tiffin across the aisle.
The goal is not to love the commute. It is to make it reliable and short enough that it does not eat the rest of your life. Choose the flat with that in mind, learn the system, get the pass, and keep a book in your bag.
