Mumbai transport: BEST aims for 8,000 buses, seeks grant of 2,812 crore
BEST plans to operate 8,000 buses by March 2026, seeking ₹2,812 crore from BMC amid a projected loss of ₹2,086.34 crore for FY2025-26
MUMBAI: The Brihanmumbai Electricity Supply and Transport (BEST) undertaking aims to operate a fleet of 8,000 buses by the end of March 2026, for which it has sought a grant of ₹2,812 crore from its parent organisation, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC). This is a significant highlight of the BEST’s annual budget for FY2025-26, presented to the BMC on Thursday. In an unprecedented move, the undertaking has not made details of its budget public this year.
The BEST currently has a depleted fleet of 2,913 buses, both owned by the undertaking and taken on wet lease. Now it plans to augment its fleet. Initially, half the fleet would run on electricity, while it the undertaking is hoping to operate an all-electric fleet by 2026-27, according to the budget document.
In its budget, the undertaking showed an anticipated loss of ₹2,086.34 crore for FY2025-26, after probable revenue of ₹7,307.04 crore and expenditure of ₹9,393.37 crore. It also declared a total cumulative liability of over ₹9,286 crore, for both its transport and electricity supply divisions, against ₹6,400 crore two years ago.
With regard to augmenting its fleet, the undertaking has stated in its budget that orders have been placed for new buses and tenders will be floated for more. It has proposed to add 1,200 double-decker A/c e-buses, 2,100 single-decker A/c e-buses and 2,650 single-decker e-buses. Orders have already been placed for 200 A/C double-decker e-buses with Switch Mobility. The manufacturer has supplied only 50 buses so far even as an escalation in manufacturing costs has stalled the rest of the order for almost a year.
The undertaking is also struggling to procure 2,100 single-decker e-buses from Olectra Greentech, which has supplied only 300 buses so far. “I have called the manufacturers for a meeting next week to sort out the issue,” said Anil Diggikar, General Manager, BEST.
In addition to the buses included in the budget, sources said the BEST had planned to procure 2,400 single-decker e-buses but the plan is on the backburner; the administration is yet to issue a letter of intent for them. However, the BEST has issued instructions to purchase the 2,650 single-decker e-buses mentioned in the budget document.
Sources said this would help meet the requirement of 3,337 owned buses in the BEST’s fleet. Of the 2,913 buses it currently operates, the undertaking owns 1,013 buses, or 34.77% of its fleet, while the remaining 1,900 buses have been taken on wet lease.
“Smooth availability of funds is a challenge, for which we are seeking help from global and domestic financial institutions. We have also sought a grant of ₹2,812 crore from the BMC. It is up to the government to take a call on the quantum of funds they want to allocate to keep the BEST in running condition,” said a BEST official.
In last year’s budget, the BMC had agreed to provide financial support amounting to ₹928 crore to the BEST, of which ₹128 crore is still pending. BEST officials said that after Thursday’s budget presentation, the BMC has agreed to disburse the balance soon. The largest sum disbursed by the BMC to the BEST was ₹1,600 crore in 2012, after which the sum has hovered around ₹800 crore.
Meanwhile, the BEST will be scrapping 510 buses in 2025-26, against which they will procure 273 AC single-decker e-buses and 237 A/C Midi e-buses. For this, they will require ₹679.51 crore and has requisitioned it from the BMC as a grant. This is part of the ₹2,812-crore grant sought in its budget for FY2025-26.