Mumbai: BEST now owns just over 1,000 buses

The latest RTI figures have revealed that BEST's own fleet is down to nearly 1,000 buses, with 2,200-plus buses taken by the undertaking on wet lease (contractor-owned with their staff). The data also reveals that BEST no longer has any double-decker buses of its own, and the 50 electric ones running are also on wet lease.

Furthermore , 83 more old self-owned buses have been lined up for scrap by December 2024, more wet-leased buses will be procured soon. On the positive side, it has also revealed that there has been no drop in bus ridership recently. "This is blatant discrimination. Almost a lakh crore is being spent on Metro rail, which has such a poor record, and they are starving BEST, causing misery to millions," said Vidyadhar Date, a transport activist from AMAB.

Commuters using BEST's AC bus. File Pic/Satej Shinde

"Bus service is essential for last-mile connectivity, even after the present Metro network under construction is complete, say by 2031, as Metros run only on major arterial roads. The station spacing is 800 m to 1.2 km, and the fares of Rs 4/km are not affordable for poor people who will still be dependent on suburban trains and BEST. Hence, BEST must augment its capacity to 6,000 buses, as planned earlier, in the next year. BEST should be allowed to raise bonds to finance the purchase of these buses. BEST should not depend entirely on wet lease buses but have a ratio of 40:60 between self-owned and wet lease buses," said AV Shenoy from Mumbai Mobility Forum.

"The number of self-owned buses in the BEST undertaking's fleet is rapidly decreasing. Shockingly, the organisation has not purchased a single bus in the past six years. Projections indicate that within the next two years, all self-owned buses will be phased out, and by 2027, BEST will not own a single bus. This situation poses a serious concern for the future of BEST. Immediate action is needed to start procuring self-owned buses to ensure the survival and sustainability of the BEST undertaking," said Rupesh Shelatkar, president of the commuter rights body, Aapli BEST Aaplya Sathi.

BEST Workers' Union general secretary Shashank Sharad Rao said it was legally binding upon the BEST undertaking to maintain at least 3,337 self-owned buses in its fleet as per a memorandum of undertaking (MoU) signed with them on June 11, 2019. "When we gave consent for the wet leasing of buses, there were certain mandatory clauses. The deal was that at any point in time, BEST must have a fleet of 3,337 own, self-owned buses. For every bus scrapped, the BMC will fund a new bus. This MoU has been backed by BMC with a signed document," he told mid-day.

BEST officials refuted the allegations and said the process to procure more buses was already on and that they had placed orders for more buses. "The undertaking has already given purchase orders for 5,135 buses on a wet lease basis. Out of these, 2,026 buses have been added to the fleet, and the remaining buses are being procured," an official added.

3,337
N of buses BEST should own as per deal with workers' union

1,095
No of buses BEST currently owns

50
No of electric buses with BEST