BEST warns wet-lease operator Hansa to put buses back on road

BEST has warned Hansa Group to resume bus services within two days or face blacklisting after the withdrawal of 280 buses in Mumbai disrupted operations

MUMBAI: The Brihanmumbai Electricity Supply and Transport (BEST) undertaking has issued an ultimatum to wet-lease operator Hansa Group of Companies to resume bus services immediately or face blacklisting. On October 14, Hindustan Times first reported on the company’s withdrawal of 280 wet-lease buses from the Mumbai roads.

BEST currently operates a fleet of 3,034 buses, serving over 3,200,000 passengers in Mumbai daily. (HT Photo)

The buses mainly operated in the western suburbs and connected residential and office spaces with bus stations and depots outside railway stations between Andheri and Malad. A few of them were meant to be part of the feeder bus routes from a Metro-3 station to the international airport. Their sudden withdrawal on Sunday threw this plan into jeopardy.

In a meeting on Monday, the BEST administration sought a reason from the Hansa Group for shutting operations over the weekend despite being paid ₹2.50 crore every month. The meeting was held between BEST general manager Anil Diggikar and representatives of the Hansa Group.

According to BEST officials, the Hansa Group, during the meeting, sought permission to run 250 buses, the number that it had started with as per its contract. The additional 30 buses were introduced later. The operator also pointed out that its increased maintenance expenses—the cost of manpower and assets with factors like passenger overcrowding putting pressure on the bus air-conditioners—and other elements had made wet-lease bus operations a costly proposition.

When questioned, Diggikar told Hindustan Times that he had asked Hansa to resume bus services within two days, and only then would BEST look into the issues faced by it. “We will be forced to blacklist them if operations are not resumed soon. We have already paid them their dues after deducting penalties,” he said. BEST officials said its total operational fleet had now dwindled to below 3,000 buses from the earlier 3,211 buses, which included 1,044 BEST-owned buses.

When HT asked Hansa Group representatives present at the meeting at Electric House, BEST’s headquarters in Colaba, they said that a few issues were being discussed with BEST but refused to divulge anything further. Following a halt in its operations, the wet-lease operator parked 280 buses inside the Marol, Oshiwara and Dindoshi bus depots.

Sources said that BEST owed the Hansa Group close to ₹90 crore, which the undertaking had deducted over a period of time as penalties. During the meeting, the Hansa Group asked the Undertaking to release this amount and said that the BEST administration had been informed about the issues it was facing for the last two years.

“As per the contract, these buses were to run on feeder routes but for the past few months, they were being operated on trunk routes,” added the sources. “The Hansa Group informed BEST in the meeting that it would wait until Diwali for its dues, which would allow it to put buses back on the road. The company has filed for bankruptcy with the National Company Law Tribunal.”

According to BEST unions, there are around 1,000 to 1,200 staffers working for the Hansa Group, who have been left in the lurch. “We have been informed that this wet-lease operator has permanently ceased services,” said Shashank Sharad Rao, general secretary, Sangharsh Kamgar Karmachari Union, who met BEST officials as well. “We have informed the BEST administration that in case the wet lease operator stops operations, whether a new operator replaces it or BEST itself decides to run these buses, it is the administration’s responsibility to ensure that the employees retain their jobs and continue to get salaries.”

BEST officials claimed that the wet-lease buses were in terrible condition and maintaining them at the BEST’s expense would be a headache. A few months ago, another wet-lease operator pulled out and dumped over 100 buses in BEST depots. The authorities said that they had asked the operator to take the buses back or else they would auction them.