Mumbai is a commuter’s city. Why is it building itself for cars?

Mumbai is reclaiming the sea again. This time so that cars can exit a tunnel faster.

Near Girgaum Chowpatty, where Marine Drive curves into the sea, the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority proposes to reclaim about 2,200 square metres of the Arabian Sea and widen the road from eight lanes to 13, absorbing traffic from the Orange Gate tunnel that will connect the Eastern Freeway to the Coastal Road.

The Maharashtra Coastal Zone Management Authority has cleared the lane reconfiguration. Final approval now rests with the Union environment ministry. All this in a city where fewer than one in 10 trips is made by car.

How Mumbai moves

Mumbai’s suburban railway network carries about 80 lakh passengers every day, according to 2025-’26 figures. The metro network adds around nine lakh riders across its lines. BEST buses, even in their diminished state, carry close to 30 lakh passengers.

Autorickshaws and taxis move millions across the metropolitan region, but no reliable data is available for the total number.

Against this, roughly 15 lakh people commute by car daily. Public transport moves nearly eight times as many people as cars do. Yet, the car has a majority claim on road space, public capital and political attention. In a city of an estimated 1.2 crore...

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