To win back commuters and make them realise that while everyone is celebrating Diwali, its staff work for the public, the Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) will run an extra 133 buses
To win back commuters and make them realise that while everyone is celebrating Diwali, its staff work for the public, the Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) will run an extra 133 buses during Diwali and Bhaubeej. Having lost commuters to share autos and taxis, the BEST says it is trying to get them back by running extra services even on days when everyone else will be celebrating.
Besides on Diwali, an extra 133 buses will also be run on Bhaubeej on November 1 in suburbs such as Mira Road and Bhayander and areas in Thane like Marathon Chowk, Cadbury Junction and Kopri, Rethi Bunder in Kalwa and in Navi Mumbai. Commuters at Koparkhairane, Airoli, Ghansoli and CBD Belapur will benefit from this.
The BEST will run 20 extra services until November 28 to areas like Dadar Plaza, Mahatma Phule Market, Kalbadevi and APMC market at Vashi during this period.
The BEST has been trying to win back its commuters who have been migrating to share auto rickshaws and taxis over the past few years.
A BEST official said, “By increasing the number of buses our hope is that the people of Mumbai will realise we provide services during festivals too and work during this seasons so that they can reach their loved ones during festivals.”
An in-house survey in April revealed that 2.7 lakh commuters have migrated away from BEST. After this figure came to the fore, the BEST has been trying different methods to get them back.
It has since then launched incentives like concessions in long distance passes, concessions for senior citizens and school children. It had also slashed rates for tickets during non-peak hours.
