Fare hike brings no respite for BEST, will continue to lose money

With a depleting fleet and no new buses in sight, sources in the BEST said the transport body was unable to get the desired benefit out of the fare hike that came into effect from May 9

MUMBAI: BEST’s recent fare hike, which came after a considerable number of years, has failed to bring much respite. The public transport body is expected to continue losing money in this financial year (2025-26) as well, somewhere in the region of ₹1,132 crore. This is what an internal document of BEST, a compilation of revenue and expenses figures for the last five to seven years, states.

Mumbai, India - April 27, 2017: The Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) undertaking operated repainted an AC buses with new white-yellow colour scheme on Bandra-BKC route in Mumbai, India, on Thursday, April 27, 2017. (Photo by Kunal Patil/Hindustan Times) (Kunal Patil/HT Photo)

With a depleting fleet and no new buses in sight, sources in the BEST said the transport body was unable to get the desired benefit out of the fare hike that came into effect from May 9. One of the reasons is that of BEST’s 3 million to 3.2 million passengers, approximately 10% stopped using the service after the fare hike.

The document that was part of the presentation made to chief minister Devendra Fadnavis demanding a fare hike, had stated that BEST’s earnings from passengers would touch ₹2,160 crore in 2025-26. The corresponding figures for 2024-25 and 2023-24 were ₹684 crore and ₹698 crore respectively. However, a loss of approximately 300,000 passengers has contributed to queering the pitch.

The statistics and calculations have apparently been factored, keeping in mind the fleet of 2,758 buses that existed in the first week of May. Of this, the total contribution of buses from wet-lease operators was 2,119 while BEST’s owned fleet had 639 buses. BEST is expected to pay ₹1,972 crore to different wet-lease operators in 2025-26, which is the highest amount in the last few years. The company paid ₹488 crore in 2021-22, which rose to ₹859 crore in 2023-24.

“BEST’s owned bus fleet is fast depleting and there is no sign of new buses,” said Sunil Ganacharya, former BEST Committee member and BJP leader. “There is little or no improvement in services provided to passengers. From waiting time at bus stops exceeding 30 to 40 minutes to the poor condition of these buses, the fare hike is in no way helping passengers. Under such circumstances, it is the duty of the BMC to financially support the undertaking through grants, as the BEST administration is doing everything stipulated by the civic body.”