Hindustan Times puts Mumbai first

In an effort to ease railway passengers’ woes on Tuesday, Hindustan Times ran a free bus service to ferry officegoers home from five locations in the city.

Although the strike had been called off at 4.30 pm, at 7 pm, when most offices shut, trains were yet to resume.

Ten buses starting from Churchgate, Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus, Dadar, MIDC police station and the MTNL office at Bandra-Kurla Complex ferried passengers to Borivli, Dahisar and Thane, stopping at different stations on the western and central rail routes. Information about the service was conveyed to over 6 lakh Hindustan Times readers through an SMS campaign.

“We wanted to do our bit for Mumbai,” said Salil Sadanandan, business head, west and south, Hindustan Times.

Tribhuvan Yadav (45), who works at the American School at Bandra-Kurla Complex, said: “I am glad I can now go straight home to Jogeshwari. The train would have been impossible.” Malad resident Poonam Purab (23), an ICICI Bank employee, said: “I was dreading going to the station to check the train situation. The bus made travel hassle-free.”

At Churchgate, officegoers and tourists availed of the buses. S.N. Acharya (65) and his son Akash (35), both lawyers, were among the first to board the bus. The duo was pleased to have a drop home after the trouble they faced on Monday.

“We got into a Borivli train from Churchgate at 11.15 pm, but got home only at 2.30 am,” Acharya said.