MSRTC Reserves 684 Buses Across Thane Depots for Konkan Ganeshotsav Rush
Across eight key depots in the district, including Thane Central, Thane 1, and Bhiwandi, the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) has reserved 684 buses so far to transport thousands of Konkan natives heading to their ancestral villages ahead of Ganeshotsav.
The annual rush began as working professionals, known locally as chakarmanyas, prepared for a long weekend starting Friday afternoon ahead of the festival on Monday, September 14. To manage the surge in passenger traffic from Thane, Mumbai, and Palghar, state transport authorities opened group bookings for up to 40 passengers a month and a half in advance, alongside online and offline individual bookings that opened two months prior.
The 684 buses secured across Thane district comprise 370 group bookings and 314 fully reserved buses. MSRTC officials noted that while overall demand remains steady, current numbers are lower than last year's figures of 2,302 group bookings and 369 individual online bookings from Thane. However, an MSRTC official in Thane stated that with one week remaining before the festival begins, the total number of group bookings is expected to increase further.
Private luxury operators have recorded similar high demand across Thane. Air-conditioned sleeper coaches were fully booked two months in advance, with ticket fares ranging between ₹2,000 and ₹2,500 per seat.
The rush has also raised safety issues regarding unauthorized operators. Outside major local pickup points including Vandana and Khopat, several unorganized school buses have reportedly been operating under cramped and unsafe conditions to capitalize on the passenger surge.
Addressing these concerns, a representative from Krishna Travels stated that registered operators strictly avoid makeshift or unauthorized vehicles such as school buses to protect passenger safety and company reputations. The representative added that they source vehicles solely from a network of 700 partner companies and decline group bookings for political parties, which typically deploy non-sleeper buses for one-way drops to Konkan without providing return transit.
