The citizen’s movement to save the Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) received support from veteran actor Amol Palekar, who expressed solidarity with Aamchi Mumbai Aamchi BEST and supported its demands for the revival of the public bus transport system.
“For a cleaner air future, our urban mobility architecture will have to undergo fundamental change,” said Mr. Palekar. “As per WHO, a city needs to allocate at least 9 sq m of green space for each resident. Yet we have less than 2 sq m. Let’s not sacrifice our precious land to feed the insatiable appetite for roads and parking. It will encourage more people to use more private transportation. Let’s prefer pedestrians, cyclists, mass transit and shared mobility. Let’s not waste our invaluable life paralysed in gridlock, smog and congestion.”
Aamchi Mumbai Aamchi BEST is a citizen-driven collective, which is working to save the ailing transport organisation. The collective has received support from several quarters, notably from Kiran Nagarkar and Congress Rajya Sabha MP Kumar Ketkar. Last Sunday, Mr. Nagarkar participated in a public meeting in Parel organised by the collective, where he said all efforts must be made to save the public transport system and that the management should increase bus routes, instead of reducing them.
The BEST management has reduced the number of routes from 500 to 430 over the past year and is under pressure from the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to shut down more loss-making routes. BEST is seeking financial help from the BMC. The corporation has agreed to help only under the condition that BEST implements its their plan to reform the transport undertaking. The plan includes procuring buses on lease, reducing facilities and staff perks, and a fare hike. The citizen’s movement has opposed all the suggested measures and has demanded lowering the fare, stopping privatisation of buses, payment of timely salaries to BEST workers and dedicated bus lanes across the city.
