Midnight services see good turnout: BEST

Passengers aboard the bus route that starts from Electric House

Midnight bus service, a long-pending demand from commuters, received a good response on Day 1, BEST officials said on Wednesday. Nearly 266 passengers took the buses that ran till 5 am on Tuesday, and the numbers are expected to go up once there is more awareness, they added.

"At night, local train services are not available. The city that never sleeps deserves 24x7 public transport, and the BEST is dedicated to providing that," said Lokesh Chandra, the Undertaking's general manager.

As of now, 12 buses run on six routes, and fare structure has remained the same as day buses. The buses run every one hour and the routes start from Electric House, Mahim bus depot, Rani Laxmibai Chowk (Sion) and Backbay. The services go till Mahim, Poisar, Sion, Mulund and Borivli via Mumbai airport.

Route number C-440, which runs between Mahim bus depot to Borivli, has received the maximum response, followed by C-305 that runs between Backbay and Sion station. Officials said more buses will be scheduled in the wee hours, depending on the footfall and public feedback.

Officials said the midnight bus service was a long pending demand from commuters. These buses operate between 12 am to 5 am, for people working the night shifts or have late working hours. The service would benefit people from sectors like hospitality and hotels, restaurants, hospitals and nursing homes, call centres and airports.

BEST will also launch Airport Express buses in the coming days for the overnight passengers, said officials. In the second phase, BEST will deploy traffic officials to study passenger movements in the first two weeks and ascertain which pockets of the city have to be connected.

266
No. of commuters who availed the service on Day 1