Mumbai News

Mumbai: Clogged roads force police to ban heavy vehicles again – Times of India

MUMBAI: After relaxing the ban on movement of heavy vehicles in peak hours for six months, massive congestion has prompted the traffic police to enforce the rule once again. The ban which was in existence since 2018 was lifted in March as the lockdown began. It was enforced again September onward and action was taken against 370 heavy vehicles upto mid-October. But heavy vehicles continue to flout the ban on highways even now. Experts suggest that if decongestion is the goal, then it’s the unregulated growth of private vehicles that needs to be tackled.
All heavy vehicles, except private buses carrying passengers, are prohibited from plying 8am-11am in the south bound direction and 5pm-9pm in the north bound direction. In South Mumbai, all heavy vehicles as well as private buses are restricted from 7am to midnight. “We had relaxed these rules during the initial phase of the lockdown when the volume of traffic was low. But September onward, traffic volumes surged exponentially as the city unlocked but most travellers were not allowed to board trains,” said a traffic police officer.

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Several cities have banned daytime movement of heavy vehicles and shifted them to off-peak hours, but this cannot be done without proper coordination with other agencies. Mumbai and Thane have different timings for movement of heavy vehicles, making it tough for truckers. A shift from peak hours to off-peak can only succeed if communities, local authorities and truckers’ associations are all involved in the decision-making process.

One of the hiccups in the police’s campaign is insufficient space to park heavy vehicles once they are intercepted. “In Thane, we intercept heavy vehicles at the entry/exit points to the city. But if traffic starts building up, we are sometimes left with no option but to release a few heavy vehicles,” said DCP (traffic) Amit Kale. In Thane, the ban is in place from 5am-12pm and from 4pm-11pm.
Referring to the different timings of the ban in Mumbai and Thane, truckers’ associations said navigating through different areas is a nightmare. “The police challan our drivers even if a vehicle is broken down or is stationary. Our drivers are forced to carry out deliveries at night though it’s risky,” said Kailash Pingle, president of the Maharashtra Rajya Motor Malak Sangh.
“There are daytime restrictions on movement of heavy vehicles in many cities for making optimum use of the road for people travelling to work or college. But this is only part of the solution. While the actual cause of congestion is too many private vehicles, every other road user seems to be paying the price except them. The authorities could implement congestion pricing or higher parking charges or carpooling during peak hours. If the goal is to reduce congestion, then every road user must contribute equally towards it,” said transport activist Ranjit Gadgil.

Source: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/mumbai-clogged-roads-force-police-to-ban-heavy-vehicles-again/articleshow/78885558.cms