The Brihanmumbai Electric Supply & Transport (BEST) has announced that it has finalised the delivery of 303 environmentally friendly buses that will abide by Euro-IV emission standards by the end of 2017. The 12-metre long buses will have more leg space, Wi-fi, forced ventilation and charging points for commuters.
The decision comes after the BEST had come under fire due to failure in procuring 100 buses under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) scheme last year, causing the fund for the same to lapse.
The BEST, which has now got a loan of Rs 100 crore from the BMC this year, has cleaned up its act and has negotiated with Tata to provide the 303 buses by the end of 2017.
“We had been in talks with Tata and Reliance for the buses to be made available to us within the year. Earlier Tata had said that it would take them 14 months and Reliance said that they would take 21 months, which was not suitable to us. After some negotiations we have finally been able bring down the actually delivery of the buses in a phase-wise manner from September,” said the BEST general manager, Jagdish Patil.
“We are going to finalise the design in the coming two to three months, but the actual prototype for us to see in the physical form will be available nine months from now. After we finalise the prototype, Tata will begin productions and the buses will be delivered in phases over the next three months,” he added.
The BEST is also considering coming out with an Expression Of Interest (EOI) for professional automobile designers, who would bring their own ideas for the design. This, Mr Patil said, would bring a level of sophistication to the design and has also asked the BEST committee members to come forward with their own ideas, from which those that are feasible will be incorporated.
In a bid to better utilise the idle 150 air-conditioned buses parked in various BEST depots throughout the city, the undertaking has decided to convert five of them to non-AC buses. “The reason behind starting with only five buses is that being AC buses, they consume more fuel in comparison to non-AC buses. But we are hoping that by removing the air-conditioning it will somehow offset the expenditure otherwise,” said the BEST general manager, Jagdish Patil. The buses are currently being converted and are expected to be operational in two to three months.
