BEST steadies up, but may still need a push

MoU with BEST Workers’ Union, BMC help seen as beneficial, but a long-term plan is needed, say activists

The Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) Undertaking finally appears to be steadying itself, months after its wobbly state of finances had a question mark on its very existence. The city’s iconic red buses may not be history, after all, with the undertaking’s administration signing a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the BEST Workers’ Union, in which it promised to maintain a fleet of 3,337 buses and procure the remaining through a wet lease model. In return, the BEST Workers’ Union agreed to withdraw the case challenging the decision to wet lease the buses and managed to get a stay on court proceedings.

A day after the MoU was signed, the BEST issued work orders to procure 450 diesel buses, including 200 mini non-airconditioned (AC), 200 mini AC and 50 non-AC midi buses. The BEST is also getting 80 electric buses under the Central government’s faster adoption and manufacturing of electric vehicles 1 (FAME 1) scheme. It is in the process of procuring 500 electric buses and 1,000 CNG small buses (midi and mini variants). “Small buses will open up several new routes and areas that large buses can’t access. Our idea is to create a network for the rail and Metro services. We are also examining how to restructure our operational network and simplify the fare collection,” Surendrakumar Bagde, BEST general manager, said.

BEST officials said they would be sending a proposal for the 500 electric buses to the Union government under the FAME 2 scheme and will put up a request for 1,000 buses in the next fortnight. The BEST’s aim is to increase its fleet strength to 10,000.

In a BEST Committee meeting held last week, Mr. Bagde had told the members they were working with the traffic department to identify sections of major arterial roads where the dedicated bus lanes could be implemented. A BEST official said this would not have been possible if they did not have adequate buses to run at a good frequency. “Dedicated bus lanes will be effective only if we can ensure buses arrive every few minutes. To achieve this frequency, we needed more buses,” the official said.

The bus service has cumulative losses of over ₹2,000 crore and was unable to service its working capital requirements of approximately ₹200 crore a month. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has agreed to provide a grant to service the undertaking’s operating expenses as and when required.

Fare reduction

The BMC has also asked the BEST to reduce the minimum fare of its mini bus services to ₹5 from the current ₹8. However, the move has been questioned. “Fare reduction is welcome, but it must be applied across the board, and not just on select routes. Also, we could introduce free rides for short trips, as that would bring more people to buses,” Hussain Indorewala, co-convenor of Aamchi Mumbai Aamchi BEST, said.

BEST committee member Sunil Ganacharya said reduction in fare will not have an impact on revenue even if it is successful in attracting more passengers. “Fare reduction is always a welcome step, but the BMC should give a clear statement that it is going to pay for the deficit in revenue,” he said.

Activists and corporators also questioned the direction in which the undertaking is headed. “The move by the BMC is welcome and it’s better late than never, but the municipal commissioner should also state that the BMC is largely to blame for the BEST’s current state of affairs,” Mr. Ganarcharya said. Had this help come a few years ago, the bus service would not have to be bailed out in this manner, he said.

Simply procuring buses will not solve anything as the existing fleet often faces congestion and is unable to complete its scheduled trips, Mr. Ganacharya said. “There should be a detailed study on what the city’s requirement is, and then the undertaking should proceed with its plan to procure buses.” Activists have said wet leasing is not in the commuters’ best interest as it will reduce service quality, and make profiteering the contractors’ primary objective. “They (contractors) may ask for subsidies or the most profitable routes to operate on. Moreover, the BEST has historically been an operator. Now, though, it will need to assume the role of a regulator and create new standards and processes,” Mr. Indorewala said.