BEST may procure 50 new ‘mini’ AC buses

Mumbai: Despite undergoing some serious cash crunch, the BEST has proposed the procurement of 50 mini-AC buses following the scrapping of 262 AC buses’ services on Sunday that has caused a public outcry.

BEST general manager, Jagdish Patil revealed that the proposal of these buses will be presented to the committee in the coming week. He said, “Once presented in the committee, it will take about four to five months for the buses to be procured and will be sent to us in phases.” He further added, “These buses are likely to increase punctuality given their sizes.” The buses are six to six-and-a-half metres long, which will help in reducing the turnaround time required from the first bus stop to the last. The old air-conditioned buses were 12 metres long.

The to-be-proposed buses are estimated to cost the BEST Rs 25 crore and might save its name after a public outcry was seen across social media over the shutting of King-Long AC bus services. Anil Kamble, a regular commuter said, “I used to regularly travel in the bus from Borivali to Bandra. It was a shame when they announced the decision to remove them.” He further added, “But the point is that even if these mini-buses are back it will take them at least a year to reach the streets of Mumbai.”

The scrapped buses, manufactured by a company called King-Long were the most expensive for the BEST from its fleet, due number of breakdowns and no income, as commuters never took shine to them.

According to officials, the 266 King-Long buses would see only ten passengers per day while normal BEST buses would see 100. In an internal study, BEST saw a loss of Rs 82 crore per year in the last five years.