BEST’s own fleet hits a new low: 639

MUMBAI: The Brihanmumbai Electricity Supply and Transport (BEST) undertaking owns just 639 buses, less than a quarter of its total fleet of 2,758. The remaining 2,119 buses are on wet lease with the undertaking, a contractual agreement with private operators.

These figures emerged at a meeting of the undertaking to take stock of its fleet. Officials said the number of buses owned by the BEST will decline further as another 170 vehicles are expected to be scrapped this month. The shortage of buses has increased the wait time for commuters by 30-35 minutes.

“We are scrapping buses from our own fleet but have asked manufacturers to expedite production and hasten delivery. We are also planning to acquire small modern buses that will connect railway and metro stations, to boost last-mile connectivity. On Wednesday, we integrated our bus routes on Google Maps to help commuters track buses and plan their journey,” said a BEST official.

Until May, the BEST received 540 buses on wet least from Olectra Greentech, which is supplying the undertaking electric, air-conditioned buses. The BEST has placed another order for 2,400 e-buses, whose production is yet to begin.

The BEST is also struggling to procure more than 50 double-decker e-buses from Switch Mobility. As of now, BEST’s electric fleet, including those from wet-lease operators, includes 900 buses, around a third of its total fleet, while it aims to convert the entire fleet to e-buses by 2027.

Sources in the BEST said in mid-March, the undertaking’s own fleet had 817 buses, while the total was 2,821 buses. In just 50 days until May 2, the BEST scrapped 178 buses.

At a recent public meeting called by ‘Aamchi Mumbai, Aamchi BEST’, citizens said they were upset at the poor frequency of BEST buses. “The wait time has gone up due to the shortage of buses. As a result, bus stops are crowded, especially during non-peak hours, when the number of bus trips drops,” said AV Shenoy, a transport expert.

The BEST claims it is aiming to take its total fleet to 7,000 buses by 2029. Passenger associations feel the recent 100% fare for both AC and non-AC buses is ill-timed as commuters should not have to shell out more when the wait time of buses has increased.