The Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) Undertaking is exploring new routes to maximise the potential of the new fare structure that it implemented on Tuesday.
Senior BEST officials said one of the new routes they were proposing is to connect Jacob Circle in Mahalaxmi to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus. (CSMT). “The distance between the two is 5 km, and hence there will be just one fare for the entire journey,” an official said.
Under the new structure, bus fares start from ₹5 for the first 5 km and are capped at ₹20. The fare reduction was part of BEST’s revival plan, which includes increasing the fleet size through a wet lease model and introducing shorter routes that will function as feeder services to suburban train stations and proposed Metro stations.
Officials said they were considering using mini buses on the new route, as the vehicles would need to negotiate narrow roads between Mahalaxmi and CSMT.
On Thursday, 42% more passengers travelled on the red buses as compared to Monday, when the old fares were in force. Sales of single tickets accounted for 24.36 lakh passengers on Thursday as opposed to 17.15 lakh passengers who used the buses on Monday.
BEST officials said there are approximately eight lakh pass-holders, who have not been included in the day-to-day comparisons.
Since the fare reduction was implemented, the increase in number of passengers has been accompanied by a dip in fare revenue. On Thursday, the revenue loss was 25% as compared to what BEST earned on Monday. The figure was around 32% on Tuesday.
BEST officials said it was still early days to decipher any trend from the travel patterns, and the focus of the administration was to successfully implement the new fares. “Our staff across the bus stops are using megaphones to inform people about the fare reduction. We are also constantly in touch with our staff if they encounter any issues due to this new fare structure,” a BEST official said.
