40% of BEST buses off roads for two days due to election duty

According to BEST officials, 1,065 buses will be deployed for election-related work from Monday night until Thursday, leading to a noticeable reduction in bus availability across the city. The shortage is expected to increase waiting time at bus stops and affect trip schedules

MUMBAI: Nearly 40 per cent of Brihanmumbai Electricity Supply and Transport (BEST) buses will be unavailable for commuters for two days starting Tuesday night, as over a thousand buses are being used for election duty ahead of the civic polls scheduled for Thursday.

40% of BEST buses off roads for two days due to election duty

According to BEST officials, 1,065 buses will be deployed for election-related work from Monday night until Thursday, leading to a noticeable reduction in bus availability across the city. The shortage is expected to increase waiting time at bus stops and affect trip schedules. “These buses will not operate at full strength during this period, which may impact passenger waiting times and journey durations,” a BEST official said.

The buses—both air-conditioned and non-air-conditioned—will be used to transport polling staff, electronic voting machines (EVMs), and other election material to polling booths across Mumbai. BEST’s total fleet currently stands at 2,743 buses, of which 2,494 are on wet lease.

The strain on public transport comes amid large-scale usage of private and commercial vehicles for election purposes. More than 3,400 auto-rickshaws, taxis, buses, cars and tempos have already been deployed for election duty across Mumbai.

While several vehicles have been officially requisitioned for election duty, a large number of cars and buses have been hired from private operators exclusively for campaign use. According to officials in the Regional Transport Offices (RTOs), 142 vehicles registered outside Maharashtra—mainly from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar—have been granted conditional permission to operate for the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections, which have entered the city to support political rallies and roadshows.

The fleet includes open jeeps, mini trucks and vans fitted with LED display boards. Party workers said such vehicles are being deployed for cultural programmes and high-visibility outreach to attract voters. Official data as of January 9 shows that the Andheri RTO has issued permissions to 99 vehicles, the highest among Mumbai’s RTOs. It is followed by Mumbai Central RTO with 27 vehicles, Wadala RTO with 16, and Borivali RTO with one vehicle.

In addition, permissions have been granted to 244 locally registered vehicles being used for campaigning, earning the RTOs a further ₹4.68 lakh in permit fees. Approval from the Transport Department is mandatory for the use of any vehicle for election-related campaigning.

“To ensure timely issuance of permits, RTO offices in Mumbai had set up ‘special cells’ that granted permissions to these vehicles being used for the election campaign,” said an official from the Transport Department.

Campaign strategies are increasingly relying on vehicles fitted with LED screens, often stationed near railway stations, bus depots and market areas to maximise visibility. So far, digital advertising permissions have been granted to 69 four-wheelers and 68 three-wheelers, generating separate revenue of ₹1.72 lakh.

Despite the shift towards digital outreach, traditional campaigning methods continue, including the use of loudspeakers mounted on auto-rickshaws and taxis. Meanwhile, private bus operators have provided nearly 2,500 buses—both air-conditioned and non-air-conditioned—and about 450 cars to the government for ferrying election staff as well as political candidates during the polls.