[category]
[title]
Mumbai’s endless traffic may be unavoidable, but scrolling through your phone for hours doesn’t have to be. There’s a better way to spend that time, what with Cityflo and the Project Mumbai NGO teaming up to launch Turning Pages, an initiative that transforms buses into moving libraries, encouraging commuters to swap screens for books.
Turning Pages officially rolled out this week across several routes in Mumbai via Cityflo, an app-based bus service for daily commuters. This initiative, which becomes a part of Project Mumbai's 'Read Mumbai' movement, transforms select premium buses into a place where passengers can browse through the books, plus borrow one to read while they commute. It's kind of a neighbourhood library on the roads.
Project Mumbai and Cityflo’s Turning Pages is a library with wheels
In this programme, each participating bus is fitted with a compact bookshelf. The books stocked on board are donated by the Project Mumbai community, and the curation spans fiction, self-development, business, contemporary Indian writing and biographies. The idea is simple: pick a book, read during journeys, and recommend titles to fellow passengers. Additionally, passengers can donate pre-loved books, helping the collection grow organically.
For Cityflo, this project marks an opportunity to make everyday travel feel more meaningful. Since 2015, the company has operated over 1,200 buses and served around 18 million rides yearly across major Indian cities including Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata and Hyderabad. Mumbaikars spend hours travelling every week, and this idle time becomes an opportunity to read, reflect, and disconnect from constant notifications.
How to spot a mini-library Cityflo bus?
The Turning Pages library service is currently accessible only on select Cityflo buses, and the programmer plans to expand based on commuter response. If you board a participating route, simply look for the dedicated bookshelf near the seating area and pick a title that interests you to read.
The Turning Pages initiative also arrives at a moment when reading is finding its way into unexpected homes. Earlier, Bakul Foundation, in collaboration with the Airports Authority of India, collaborated to launch the Flybrary initiative, where over 60 airports have a dedicated bookshelf at arrival and departure, allowing passengers to borrow and browse books, read, and carry them along for the journey.
From library cafes to airport book exchanges and now buses, the reading culture across India seems to be popping up in places you would least expect. What do you think would be next? Railway stations, maybe.