Life in a Metro 2

It was Thane again for me. The target was to reach by 3 pm.

I left office from Goregoan East at 1 pm. I made it a point to take small buffer this time and not as big as I did last time although it helped me. I did not have the liberty to add those buffer time.

I stepped out of the office and was happy to see no rains. This time rains were in my favor.

I usually avoid rickshaws near my office as they refuse most of the time. But still I asked each one of them politely and each one of them refused politely. Finally I started searching for Ola and Uber cabs as usual. Does it really matters if rickshaws go on strike?

I had almost walked half a kilometer while I was booking a cab. Quickly booked Ola micro, thanked God as there was no surge price. With no time, I called the driver to ask his location and he told he is at Inorbit Mall i.e. Goregoan West which is very far. I asked him, will he manage to reach in 10 min for which he replied, "Saab, Bahut traffic hai". I understood and cancelled the ride. Ola app still has to fine tune its application.

I opened up Uber but there was no cab available except for SUV or Uber Black. I tried Ola mini this time and got one quickly again. He reached in 5 minutes and the trip started with traffic. 

Traffic  is something which people have to accept in Mumbai. This will add on when the Metro work start in Western Express Highway. I was already late and got restless to reach Borivali as I had to catch a bus there after. He dropped me at Magathane depot. 

I had to catch the AC 700 bus to Thane but instead got a NON AC bus. I just stepped in the bus and asked for a ticket. He refused and told that this bus doesn't go the destination. I confirmed again but he was sure that it will not go to my location. I was confused as the same bus had dropped me last time.

I got down to return back to the same depot after walking for a Kilometer. I then started inquiring again with other conductors who told that the bus goes to the place but have to get down at a particular location and then take a rickshaw. The previous bus conductor was unaware of it. As per the rule the more late you get, the more problems come your way to make it really late.

I finally got a AC 700 bus after waiting for 10 min. I remember the quality of this bus but I did not have options as before. People have started ignoring this bus and the bus usually goes empty. This time I managed to take a picture of the interiors. 

Although it was not raining water was dripping from the AC vent. To save the seat they had put plastic sheet. I shifted place twice to find a better place to sit in. The bus was vibrating even on roads without potholes. I feared that some of the parts might fall on me. I could see screws fallen off from the top.

I cannot avoid the bus but this time I estimated the time wrongly. I started my google map to to check how far I am from the destination. It showed 45 min away. I wanted to make the delay as small as possible. 

I reached the destination and I could see rickshaws to Thane station and no body ready to take me to my location. I moved ahead to search for rickshaws. It started drizzling slightly. I prayed and got a rickshaw in time. I started my google map and saw the destination 5 minutes away.

Finally I reached at 3:30 pm.


‘This post is a part of Write Over the Weekend, an initiative for Indian Bloggers by BlogAdda.’