BEST bans loud talk, blaring music on its buses

The Bombay Electric Supply and Transport (BEST), which provides millions of commuters efficient and cheap city transport, issued the order which implements existing provisions in the Motor Vehicles Act, 1989.

"Our conductors shall request people talking loudly or playing loud music to desist, then warn them. If they do not comply, they will be deboarded immediately," a BEST spokesperson told IANS.

The rule will be applicable on all the 4,157 buses in the BEST fleet which daily ferries lakhs of commuters all over Mumbai, Navi Mumbai, Thane and Raigad districts.

BEST bans loud talk, blaring music on its buses.

The spokesperson said that there had been many complaints from commuters, conductors and drivers of people talking loudly or playing loud music on their mobile phones.

"Due to this, drivers get distracted, conductors make errors in issuing tickets or change, and co-commuters have to bear the avoidable noise pollution," he said.

BEST, ranked among the country's most efficient city public bus service, was started July 15, 1926, carrying 600,000 commuters in its first year of operations. It now ferries around 45 lakh commuters each day.u00a0