While Ola was not forthcoming with percentages, in a list sources from the firm sent us, Lower Parel leads when it comes to the most important nodes of its Mumbai network, followed by Andheri, Borivli, Kandivli and Jogeshwari.
Is Lower Parel the new commercial headquarters of Mumbai, the way Nariman Point once was? If operational patterns made available to dna by aggregator cab firms Uber and Ola are anything to go by, it seems so. Both Uber and Ola authorities put Lower Parel as the top destination in the city for pick-ups and drop-offs.
For Uber, Lower Parel accounts for 15% of its drop-offs and 16% of pick-ups in the morning. It also accounts for the highest percentage of pick-ups in the evening at 12%. In keeping with the city's almost century-old trend of people moving southwards for work during the mornings and northwards during the evenings, Borivli is the top destination at 11% when it comes to drop-offs in the evening. Even here, there is a sizable 9% who get dropped off during the evening in Lower Parel, possibly a testimony to the longer evening working hours of corporate offices, or maybe the lure of upmarket malls in the area.
While Ola was not forthcoming with percentages, in a list sources from the firm sent us, Lower Parel leads when it comes to the most important nodes of its Mumbai network, followed by Andheri, Borivli, Kandivli and Jogeshwari.
The railway numbers, the most precise indicator in the city of the changing face of an area, are also in favour of the areas around Lower Parel. A passenger survey carried out in May 2013 by the Mumbai Rail Vikas Corporation showed that Parel on Central Railway and Elphinstone Road and Lower Parel on Western Railway are among the stations where a maximum number of people alight during the morning peak hours. According to officials, the landscape of this belt, once Mumbai's mill capital, is now changing rapidly to one of multi-storied office complexes.
"Many of these complexes have offices of firms in the new economy and the service sector. These complexes today have more people working there at any point of time than when the mills were at their peak. Being part of the well-heeled employee bracket might be one of the reasons why this area is such a favourite of aggregator cabs," agreed a senior transport official.
How it all adds up for Uber
Top locations & morning drop-offs
Lower Parel: 15%
Colaba: 8.9%
Bandra: 8%
Top locations & morning pick-ups
Lower Parel: 16%
Andheri: 7%
Bandra: 7%
Top locations & evening drop-offs
Borivli: 11%
Airport: 9.8%
Lower Parel: 9%
Top locations & evening pick-ups
Lower Parel: 12%
Bandra: 10%
Andheri: 9%
Ola's list of top spots
Lower Parel
Andheri
Borivli
Kandivli
Jogeshwari
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