Ola, Uber took toll on AC bus operations: BEST

Mumbai: In an affidavit submitted to the Bombay high court on Thursday, the Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) undertaking said that it has decided to shut down its fleet of air-conditioned buses in April this year, as their operation was not profitable.

The BEST said that while the cost of running the AC bus fleet was Rs 42.63 lakh daily in March this year, it earned a revenue of only Rs 6.75 lakh daily. The BEST said that its profitability has suffered due to competition from app-based cab aggregator services like the Ola and Uber.

 A division bench of Chief Justice Manjula Chellur and Justice N.M. Jamdar was hearing a petition filed by city-based chartered accountant B.B. Shetty that said that though the BEST administration had taken the decision because of the huge losses it incurred, it is the the constitutional duty of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to run BEST buses in the city.

The petition also stated that even if local trains exist, most senior citizens, women and students are used to travelling by AC buses.

BEST earlier  refused to accept the contention of petitioner that AC buses is there fundamental right. On Thursday, BEST deputy manager Chandrashekhar Rane filed the affidavit and reiterated that the petitioner can’t claim that non-availability of AC buses is infringing his constitutional rights.

The affidavit also cites a Supreme Court judgment that says that information from Wikipedia may not be authentic. It further stated that the maintenance cost of AC buses is costly than non-AC buses.The court has kept the matter for further hearing after a week.