BEST committee demands scrapping of all AC buses

Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) committee members, on Friday, asked management to stop air-conditioned buses altogether, what with only 143 out of the 280 still running.

Committee member Ravi Raja said, “We are running only 143 buses out of the original 280 and I think that we should stop running air-conditioned buses. Since we have realised that these buses are not running up to the mark and instead of further dampening the undertaking’s image, we should stop them altogether.”

Mr Raja had asked BEST for the exact number of AC buses running on the ground when he was informed about the low numbers. “These numbers are by the management for the month of September. So, why isn’t the undertaking scrapping them all at once ” he questioned.

In March this year, BEST had started taking the buses off the road after continuous breakdowns and increasing maintenance costs.

Another committee member, Kedar Hombalkar, said the value the undertaking might get out of scrapping the buses will decrease the longer they lie around in depots. “We need to sell them out for scrap as soon as we can before the value further decreases,” he said.

Committee member Shivjit Singh said these are signs that the undertaking might be taken over by a private party in future. “Look at what has happened to bus transport in Haryana. A private company has taken over the transport system and has bought 5,500 buses and fares for the same are not meant for the common man,” he said.

Meanwhile, BEST general manager, Jagdish Patil, said they cannot take AC buses off roads in a city like Mumbai unless there is another alternative. “We have increased child fare on air-conditioned buses. We are speaking to corporate houses to provide services to them from their work place to residence etc. So, there are efforts being made,” he said.

BEST has been facing loses of about Rs 250 crore per year as a result of buying bad quality buses.