MUMBAI: Public transport that largely depends on CNG was badly hit during the Friday morning peak hours due to 'tripping' of gas stations that led to CNG retail pumps being temporarily shut at many places. Hailing autorickshaws and taxis became a bigger battle than on other days.
"It was frustrating waiting for an autorickshaw from 10am to 10.25am at Dahanukarwadi. I had to go for urgent work and I realised something was wrong with the auto service. Finally a bus pulled up and I ran for it," said a Kandivli resident.
Aggregator cab services like Ola and Uber could not bail out commuters as many hatchbacks and sedans in their ranks have switched from diesel to CNG. Many school buses could not refuel on Friday morning. Over 3 lakh private vehicles use CNG and many of them too faced problems, said sources.
A Mahanagar Gas statement in the afternoon pointed at a significant increase in vehicular movement because of the extended I-Day weekend and the congestion triggered by heavy rain. The two reasons led to an increased demand for fuel. "This sudden spike in demand of CNG in the face of limited gas availability resulted in reduction of network pressure at extreme ends leading to tripping of a few CNG stations due to low pressure...," it added.
Transport union leaders said there were long queues of autos and taxis at pumps till late afternoon as the problem continued.
Many were forced to take BEST buses which ran packed in the morning. BEST's on-road fleet was not impacted as it has an exclusive refuelling facility as a bulk user, said sources.
