Cashless travel on BEST to be a reality soon

The city's 45 lakh BEST commuters can soon stop worrying about loose change and haggling with the conductor.

The city's 45 lakh BEST commuters can soon stop worrying about loose change and haggling with the conductor.

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The Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) re-launched the Go Mumbai card on Wednesday, which will allow commuters to travel on BEST as well as the suburban network of the Central Railway.

In six months, around 4,000 BEST buses will be fitted with a card reading device on the entry and exit doors, which will be connected to a Global Positioning System. The cost of installing the device on a single bus is Rs 1 lakh.

Commuters just have to flash the card in front of the device while boarding and alighting. The device will calculate the distance and charge the exact fare.

Now, the conductor has to manually scan the card using his pocket-sized device.

General Manager Uttam Khobragade, said: “Presently, about 125 buses at Poisar Depot carry this device and the Go Mumbai prepared cards are available from the bus depots.”

Bluetooth on buses

BEST buses will also be equipped with Bluetooth-enabled services.

A commuter on the bus can download information about the fares, routes, stoppages and bus schedules on a Nokia handset, via Bluetooth, for no additional cost.

Commuters can know which routes the bus will cover, the next stop and time needed to reach the final destination.

Initially, the system will be introduced on long-route buses like the air-conditioned Bus Rapid Transit System and later on shorter routes.

Bluetooth services are available in buses in New York, Bangkok and London.