After fare hike, BEST buses get 3 lakh fewer passengers daily

While the hike in bus fares has increased the earning of the Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST), it has resulted in a decline in the number of daily passengers.

While the hike in bus fares has increased the earning of the Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST), it has resulted in a decline in the number of daily passengers.

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The new fare structure, with a 33-35% hike, came into effect from April 26. “At the end of June 2012, BEST buses had 37.78 lakh average passengers daily, 3 lakh less than those in February and March,” said Ravi Raja, senior committee member, BEST.

Following the hike, passengers prefer taking share autos or taxis instead of BEST buses, said Raja. “The lack of passengers forces most buses to remain in depots in the afternoon. Once the metro and monorail become operational, the utility could lose more passengers,” he said.

Worried over the dip in the number of passengers, BEST committee members have asked the administration to take immediate corrective steps. Union leader and committee member, Suhas Samant, said that during the peak hours, passengers from south Mumbai have to wait for very long to get buses to reach CST and Churchgate station. So, they travel by share taxis. If the passengers get used to travelling by taxis, getting them to travel by BEST buses could become difficult, he said.

BEST committee members also discussed the shortage of smart cards that are mandatory to obtain the Rs40-daily pass. “The administration should have evaluated the demand before making smart cards mandatory. Now, the passengers are forced to wait for 8-10 days to get their new smart cards,” said Samant.

OP Gupta, general manager, BEST said that earlier there was no concrete method to find out the exact number of passengers. “With the computerised ticketing system, we get to know the exact number of passengers.”