BEST plans new, better AC buses

The Brihanmumbai Electric Supply & Transport (BEST) will propose the induction of 50 small air-conditioned buses into the undertaking’s fleet during the BEST budget schedule in December this year at the cost of Rs 50 crore, with an assurance that they will be a significant improvement on the current fleet of AC buses.

The proposal comes at a time when the BEST has begun to incur losses up to Rs 22 lakh per bus. The undertaking has 284 AC buses in total, but heavy losses have forced it to cut down the number of these buses plying on the road to just 124. The BEST has also tried to market the AC buses to private firms who might want to rent them to transport employees or for company picnics.

Until August the BEST had no plan to include air-conditioned buses in the budget but this seems to have changed after the BEST management had talks with the BMC officials as well as Mumbai Metropolitan Regional Transport Development Authority (MMRDA) who seemed to be willing to back the proposal with monetary help.

“The MMRDA and the BMC have backed up most of the proposal and it seems the air-conditioned buses will be on the cards this budget,” said an official on the condition of anonymity.

The BEST has been bleeding dry as a result of the AC buses and in fact officials have agreed that the undertaking has been unable to sell these buses even for scrap. The regular contractors have told the management that due to such bad publicity about the buses they are afraid to buy them even for scrap.

General Manager, Jagdish Patil said unlike the old buses, the new buses would not face problems climbing steep slopes. Buses in the current AC fleet break down and consume maximum fuel in such situations. “Yes I have proposed that these smaller buses in the budget this year, they will be better in climbing up slopes where our current buses have failed miserably. We are not sure if these buses will be CNG or diesel-powered, we are yet to decide, but still if it’s made CNG like the present AC buses, it will no have issues since the system will be new and sophisticated,” said Mr Patil.

The current fleet of AC buses was purchased during the tenure of ex-general manager Uttam Khobragade.