Golf carts stop plying at CST due to lack of ads

The only two battery-operated car services at Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (CST) which ferried senior citizens and disabled persons have stopped functioning for the past four months. The services were allegedly stopped due to lack of advertisements on the cart.

The two golf- carts were launched by the Central Railway in December 2009 for easy navigation within the outstation platforms for the senior citizens and disabled persons. The cart costs around 4.5 lakh and can carry four persons with a space to keep the luggage.

The passengers could avail the services by calling on a helpline number. The passengers were required to wait for his or her turn.

The shutdown of the services has caused inconvenience to the disabled passengers who used these carts regularly to navigate within the outstation platforms.

"I used these vehicles regularly at CST terminus and it helped me ferry until my boggie. Without these vehicles, I am unable to move around the outstation platforms as I have to use two sticks to reach the boggie of the express trains," said Shridhar Bodke, a disabled commuter who regularly used the services at CST.

The carts were providing services for free of charge by an agency called Shrishti Communications for the past nine years. This agency was earning by way of advertisements from the banks. However, the services were allegedly shutdown owing to lack of advertisements from the banks.

The agency was operating the services at CST by getting an approval from the Central Railways for continuing the services. However, the railways have stopped giving the approval to continue the services since September 2016.