BEST adds 7 new buses to its fleet

These are most likely to be operational for connecting residential areas with railway stations in the western and eastern suburbs. The addition comes at a time when BEST’s operational bus fleet stands at 3,328, which is in sharp contrast to its plans of plying 4,200-4,500 buses by mid-2023

Mumbai: The Brihanmumbai Electricity Supply and Transport (BEST) undertaking on Friday, added 7 new buses to its fleet which is part of 125 CNG air-conditioned buses that shall be procured.

BEST adds 7 new buses to its fleet

Additionally, 150 AC diesel buses are also in the pipeline to be added to their fleet, which has depleted over the months. Confirming the same about the new AC buses running on CNG, a senior BEST official said, “They will introduce 20 such buses in May”.

These are most likely to be operational for connecting residential areas with railway stations in the western and eastern suburbs. The addition comes at a time when BEST’s operational bus fleet stands at 3,328, which is in sharp contrast to its plans of plying 4,200-4,500 buses by mid-2023.

As for the diesel AC buses, they are looking for bus operators having a functional fleet, including schools and private offices. Previously, the BEST fleet had touched 3,800 buses, but gradually it started dwindling.

The past year has seen the cancellation of 288 buses on wet lease and the wait for 50 electric double-decker AC buses and 2,100 electric buses. These buses are lying unused in a dump yard out of Mumbai.

BEST’s current fleet includes 1,582 buses on wet lease from private contractors and 1,646 owned by the undertaking. Last month, BEST had also withdrawn 400 buses after three fire incidents but were restored in 20 days.