Breakdowns, maintenance issues, customer complaints plagued authorities from September to November last year A recent traffic police survey has left the Brihanmumbai Electric Supply &amp; Transport (BEST) authorities scrambling for some answers. <table style="width: 62px; height: 155px" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="62" align="left" border="1"> <tbody> <tr> <td><img alt="" src="/imagedata/2011/jan/best.jpg" border="0" /></td></tr> <tr> <td> A three-month long survey conducted by Mumbai's traffic cops found that 800 out of BEST's fleet of 4,700 buses have broken down while plying, often requiring commuters to push the bus</td></tr></tbody></table>According to the three-month long survey conducted by the Mumbai traffic cops that concluded last November, 800 out of BEST's fleet of 4,700 buses have broken down while plying, from September to November 2010. The city transport authority will form a panel, comprising three committee members, three engineers from the technical department, and the general manager of BEST, Om Prakash Gupta, on board to examine the cause of these breakdowns said Dilip Patel, a BEST committee member. Admitting that the buses were in bad shape, Gupta said, "We will find out the reason and sort out the issue." On an average, every month 100 buses break down on the city roads. There have even been situations when passengers have had to push the bus. "On any given day, about five to 10 per cent of the buses break down. There are many lying unused at the depots," revealed a senior BEST official. "The buses have not been maintained properly due to a shortage of engineering staff," offered Sunil Ganacharya, a BEST committee member, by way of explanation. Commuters meanwhile are fuming at the inconvenience being caused. Nikita Rai, a 27 year-old medical representative, who has been travelling in BEST buses for the past seven years said, "There was a time when we could count on BEST to reach on time. But now, the situation is terrible. I can't trust the buses to reach on time, and in the past two years, I have been left in the lurch several times because of breakdowns." Numbers: 4,700 Total number of BEST buses in the city: 800 The number of buses that have broken down between September and November 2010

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Breakdowns, maintenance issues, customer complaints plagued authorities from September to November last year

BEST's worst months

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BEST's worst months

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