A special Independence Day tour took BMC and government school students across Mumbai’s historical landmarks. Participants from the Salaam Bombay Foundation’s photography programme documented the city's living history through their own lenses.
Mumbai, August 16, 2026: This Independence Day, Cityflo, India’s leading urban transit bus commute service, in collaboration with Salaam Bombay Foundation (SBF), took a group of 15 students from the Salaam Bombay Foundation on a curated educational tour across Mumbai, bringing the city’s history, heritage, culture and contemporary identity together into one journey.
The tour was designed for students to experience Mumbai beyond the classroom and connect with the places and stories that have shaped the city and the nation. Travelling in the comfort of a Cityflo bus, the students explored the Gateway of India, Mani Bhavan and August Kranti Maidan, and Sir J J School of Art Gallery while also driving past the site of Bal Gangadhar Tilak’s memorial. The journey also included a visit to the Paradox Museum, adding a contemporary and experiential perspective to the tour.
For the students of Salaam Bombay Foundation’s, the journey became an opportunity to capture Mumbai through their own lens. The students photographed the landmarks, architecture and moments from the tour, bringing their individual perspectives to the city. A selection of their photographs will travel across the city on Cityflo platforms, carrying the students’ view of Mumbai to a wider audience.
The initiative brought together Cityflo’s focus on shared, sustainable urban mobility with Salaam Bombay Foundation’s work, empowering adolescents to break the cycle of poverty through education in media, arts, sports and vocational skill development. While Cityflo works towards making the daily urban travel more comfortable and to encourage the adoption of shared mobility, Salaam Bombay Foundation gives the students with platforms to develop skills, confidence and creative expression.
Sankalp Kelshikar, Co-founder, CMO & Head of Cityflo Corporate, Cityflo, said, “At Cityflo, we believe that how a city moves is closely connected to how it grows. Our commitment to building more accessible, sustainable and liveable cities goes beyond mobility; it is also about creating experiences that add value to the communities we serve. Partnering with Salaam Bombay Foundation allowed us to give the students an opportunity to experience their city, connect with its history and imagine its future. Seeing them document the journey through photography made the experience even more meaningful, and we hope perspectives continue to travel across Mumbai.”
Savio Pashana, Head of Communications, Salaam Bombay Foundation, said, “Learning can happen anywhere when young people are allowed to explore, observe and express themselves. This excursion provided our students with the invaluable opportunity to engage with Mumbai’s historical and cultural heritage, while concurrently examining the city through a contemporary lens. For our students, the opportunity is to have their work showcased across Cityflo buses provides a meaningful platform to share their creativity with a broader audience. We are pleased to partner with Cityflo in curating an Independence Day experience that integrates education, creativity, and professional opportunity.”
The collaboration showcases the shared belief that a city is best understood by moving through it, and that the everyday commute can carry young people’s stories back to it.
About Cityflo:
Founded in 2015, Cityflo is India's leading urban transit bus commute service, built for the urban corporate professional. It runs an extensive network of premium buses on fixed routes that serves high-density residential and office corridors. The company operates over 1,200 buses and serves 18 million rides annually across Mumbai, Delhi, Hyderabad and Kolkata. With a focus on comfort and convenience Cityflo offers a reliable alternative to personal vehicles and unpredictable public transport. Through partnerships with corporates, fleet operators and OEMs, Cityflo is building the infrastructure for a better daily commute at scale across India's largest cities.
About Salaam Bombay Foundation:
Salaam Bombay Foundation, established in 2002, works with adolescents from low-income communities in Mumbai to help them stay in school and build skills for a better future. The organisation focuses on life skills, health awareness, vocational training and creative development through its in-school programs and after-school academies in arts, media and sports. Its approach is simple: strengthen confidence, improve decision-making and create exposure to real career pathways so adolescents are less likely to drop out. The Foundation’s vocational and skill-building initiatives also prepare students for part-time income opportunities and long-term employability.
Over the years, Salaam Bombay has reached thousands of young people, giving them tools to grow, stay engaged with education and work toward stable, meaningful futures.