BEST fare hike adds ₹500 crore to kitty, trims losses

Sources in the BEST said the increase in earnings in 2025-26 was mainly on account of the fare revision implemented in May 2025, higher revenue from wet-lease bus operations, increased financial support from the BMC, and growth in other income

Mumbai: The Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) Undertaking mopped up an additional ₹500 crore in revenues in 2025-26, following the fare hike in May 2025, according to figures presented during the BEST committee meeting on Wednesday.

Currently, the BEST operates 2,834 buses across the city; among these, 249 buses are owned by the undertaking, while the remaining are owned and managed by wet-lease operators (HT Photo)

The earnings of BEST’s transport wing alone rose from ₹1,640 crore in 2024-25 to ₹2,137 crore in 2025-26, a revenue hike of ₹497.25 crore. This helped trim the transport wing’s losses by ₹540.46 crore and the BEST Undertaking’s overall losses by ₹621.88 crore in the 2025-26 financial year, documents presented during Wednesday’s meeting and accessed by Hindustan Times show.

In May 2025, the undertaking doubled the minimum fare for its non-AC and AC buses, to ₹10 and ₹12, respectively, alongside hiking rates of daily, weekly and monthly passes. The number of passengers ferried by BEST on a daily basis registered a drop subsequently, from approximately 2.5 million to 2.1 million.

Currently, the BEST operates 2,834 buses across the city; among these, 249 buses are owned by the undertaking, while the remaining are owned and managed by wet-lease operators.

Sources in the BEST said the increase in earnings in 2025-26 was mainly on account of the fare revision implemented in May 2025, higher revenue from wet-lease bus operations, increased financial support from the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), and growth in other income.

“We had estimated that the fare revision would generate around ₹590 crore in additional annual ticket revenue. Figures from 2025-26 show that the actual hike in earnings was close to this estimate, although the fares were revised midway through the financial year,” a BEST official said, requesting anonymity. The full impact of the fare hike on BEST’s revenues would become clearer in subsequent periods, he said.

In 2025-26, the BMC’s grant to the BEST rose to ₹1,000 crore from ₹794.52 crore in 2024-25, while losses of the transport division without taking the BMC grant into consideration registered a drop, from ₹2,517.85 crore to ₹2,182.87 crore, indicating better finances.