The BEST administration said on Thursday smaller buses seem to be the answer for Brihanmumbai Electricity Supply and Transport (BEST) to compete against taxis and auto rickshaws operating on share basis. They asked the BEST committee to approve procurement of 1,000 buses in this year's budget, primarily those that are smaller in structure.
The BEST has proposed to introduce 1,000 new buses within 18 months. These buses will not only increase the existing fleet, but also eliminate the old, rugged buses plying on Mumbai roads. These also include the new air conditioned buses. As per the budget estimate made by BEST, they intend to increase the fleet from 3,337 to 4,050 buses, to increase the daily passenger footfall to 45 lakh from 29 lakh.
"Once the 1,000 new buses join the fleet, they will be able to operate on narrow roads," said a senior BEST official. These are small buses that would ply from railway stations to popular residential societies and commercial complexes.
These buses include the 40 AC midi electric buses under the Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Electric (FAME) scheme. To increase the number of AC buses, they will also acquire 40 midi AC buses, 11 midi AC buses running on diesel, and 200 mini AC buses on wet-lease. They will continue to operate the 25 hybrid buses. They will also procure 200 regular mini buses, 50 midi buses, 11 non-AC midi buses. Additionally, they propose to get 441 CNG buses on wet-lease basis.
COMING UP NEXT
- BEST will continue to operate the 25 hybrid buses. They will procure 200 regular mini buses, 50 midi buses, 11 non-AC midi buses. Additionally, they propose to get 441 CNG buses on wet-lease.
