BEST mulls taking 50 of its AC buses off the road

The Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) is contemplating if it should scrap 50 of its air-conditioned buses immediately. According to an internal experiment that BEST conducted, it takes around Rs 4-5 lakh to completely retrofit and improve each AC bus it has in its fleet at present, while it also costs the undertaking Rs 160 per km to run each bus.

BEST has a fleet of 227 AC buses at present, of which only 160 are in running condition. The engineering department had conducted the experiment of retrofitting two AC buses, wherein the body and the engine of the buses were retrofitted, but the cost to do so was around Rs 10 lakh.

The engineering department has informed the management that the body of the buses has begun to show signs of extreme corrosion and that it is unable to maintain them as that requires a lot of manpower, which the undertaking cannot afford to provide.

BEST general manager Jagdish Patil said, “We require around Rs 5 lakh to retrofit each of these buses and we cannot afford that amount. So we are deciding on what to do with them. At the same time, we are planning to tie up with a private bus maker, to whom we would only have to pay the fuel costs and that of one driver.”

BEST is considering the private bus maker’s offer, as the latter would help the undertaking continue to provide AC services to its commuters at a rate of Rs 46 per km. A BEST official said on the condition of anonymity, “BEST is basically in a fix as these buses are highly corrosive, but if they scrap them they will have to admit that they made a bad decision.”

Meanwhile, BEST has had to face constant comparisons with the Thane Municipal Transport as well Navi Mumbai Metropolitan Transport, which have been able to attract commuters to its AC bus services.