BEST to introduce luxury buses on office routes in September

MUMBAI: Starting September 1, commuters will be able to travel in luxury buses provided by the Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST)

MUMBAI: Starting September 1, commuters will be able to travel in luxury buses provided by the Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST). Initially, seven BEST premium buses will be introduced on critical office routes between Thane-South Mumbai and Navi Mumbai-South Mumbai.

The bus services will be particularly operated during the office peak hours (Pratik Chorge/HT Photo)

Targeted especially for office goers, passengers will be able to reserve seats on the buses via a mobile application. 200 luxury buses will be introduced in the first phase and by 2024 BEST plans to introduce nearly 2,000 such buses.

The soon-to-be-launched app will also have a ‘Home Reach’ feature, wherein passengers can provide their details like a home address and enable the live location. The BEST control room will track the passengers’ movement and if they do not reach their home location in a stipulated time, the control room will call the passengers to check on their whereabouts.

“The bus services will be introduced on the office going routes between Thane and South Mumbai and between Navi Mumbai and South Mumbai,” said Lokesh Chandra, general manager, BEST.

The bus services will be particularly operated during the office peak hours and BEST aims to attract office goers who travel by private vehicles and private buses.

The fares of the bus services have not yet been finalised but BEST officials have stated that it will be cheaper than mobile application-based cabs and private buses.