Chalo bus halts services from T2 to Colaba, Borivali; Thane, Kharghar routes see rise in ridership

MUMBAI: Chalo bus has stopped services from T2 international airport to Colaba/ Cuffe Parade and to Borivali in western suburbs, but they are operating two services which are now popular from T2 airport and which cater to commuters travelling to Thane and Navi Mumbai.
The route S-106 T2 to Thane and S-105 T2 to Kharghar have flat fares of Rs 204.50 and Rs 254.50 respectively. It also goes through other areas such as Andheri and BKC from where it gets a significant number of riders for the vacant seats in the buses, an official said.

There are around 50 services collectively daily, with Helpdesk and signages at T2 airport. Each route has around 30 bus stops catering to various localities in Navi Mumbai and Thane.
The Airport-Thane route covers several areas within Thane itself, as the destination points include Louis Wadi, Nitin Company Junction, Cadbury Junction Thane, Viviana Mall, Manpada, Kasarvadavali Naka, Tieten Medicity Hospital, Shri Ram Hospital Ovale Village and Lodha Splendora.
Similarly, the Airport-Kharghar route goes through several parts of Navi Mumbai including Vashi Highway, Sanpada Railway Station, Juinagar Railway Station, Nerul Naka Or LP Chalo Bus Stop, C B D Belapur Or Konkan Bhavan, Hiranandani Complex Sector 7 Kharghar, Shilp Chowk, Jalvayu Vihar Kharghar, Sector 35 Kharghar among other stops.
"The travellers are allowed to carry hand baggage and if there are vacant seats, they can also keep additional luggage," a source from Chalo bus said. The route takes upto one hour and 15 minutes for Thane and 1.5 hours to reach Kharghar destination. The ridership is an average 1500-2000 daily from the airport, the source added.
Some of the other Chalo bus routes include Thane to Andheri, Thane to Goregaon, Thane to BKC, Gundavali Metro station to BKC, Bandra station East to BKC, Andheri-SEEPZ to BKC, Belapur to Colaba etc
"The trips from Airport to Thane are just one-way and not in reverse direction. Also, any seat on the bus can be booked online through the app and with digital payments," an official added.