No BEST bus fare hike till March ’18

MUMBAI:In a major relief for over 30 lakh suburban commuters, Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) undertaking has not proposed any fare hike in the

MUMBAI:In a major relief for over 30 lakh suburban commuters, Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) undertaking has not proposed any fare hike in the 2017-18 financial budget presented by general manager Jagdish Patil before the BEST committee members on Wednesday.

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This means the prevailing BEST tariff for the ordinary and the air-conditioned (AC) buses remains the same till March 2018. The tariff remains unchanged despite the undertaking incurring losses worth Rs 565.74 crore from its transport wing. The BEST administration has demanded a subsidy of Rs 565 crore from the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to offset this deficit.

However, the opposition termed the move a political gimmick before the 2017 BMC elections. “This is nothing but a political gimmick by the ruling party before the 2017 civic elections. They will burden the commuters with fare revision after the election, as they had done in 2014,” said Kedar Hombalkar, BEST committee member.

The administration also proposed renovation of one of the bus depots, for which Rs100 crore would be collected in the next three years.

The project could be funded by the BMC, the state government or executed using the PPP model.