BEST to meet Devendra Fadnavis over permit-free entry to private buses

The long held monopoly of the Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) Undertaking in buses is under threat. The undertaking is now feeling the heat. Just days after mid-day reported on permit-free entry for private buses into Mumbai, the undertaking is pondering over its future, especially when its annual loss touches Rs 800 crore.

In the red: Even halving the fares of its AC buses hasn't helped BEST get more passengers. It even tried selling the buses, but got low bids. File pic

The BEST committee - that consists of various political leaders from different parties - on July 14 decided to approach Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on this issue. "We will be writing a letter to the chief minister's office and also try to meet the CM on this issue. It (allowing private buses to run without permits) will surely have repercussions," said Mohan Mithbavkar of the BJP and chairman of the BEST committee.

Members of the BEST committee claimed that the entry of private buses will further harm the financial health of the undertaking. "We will have to take steps to ensure that the entry of private buses doesn't affect our transport aspect. We are already running huge losses and this will affect us further," said NCP's Sanjay Kondvilkar, member, BEST committee.

With the purple-coloured AC buses not being able to garner much interest from Mumbaikars, BEST also slashed the fares of these services by half on July 1. The BEST undertaking claims that although its earnings from AC buses dropped, the average passenger numbers went up by 75%. But this is not good enough, as out of the 260 AC buses that they had in the fleet, barely 125 or so ply every day. The rest are under maintenance and unavailable. BEST spends R40 crore annually on such maintenance. The undertaking wanted to sell the AC buses, but the bids did not cross even Rs 1 lakh. The buses cost R65-70 lakh each.

Point-to-point services
On July 7, the Mumbai Metropolitan Regional Transport Authority (MMRTA) decided to allow private buses from Thane, Vasai-Virar, Navi Mumbai and other parts of the MMR permit-free entry into Mumbai. This was done as they felt that the AC buses being provided by public transporters like BEST are unable to cater to the large numbers of commuters.

The MMRTA said the existing fleet is unable to meet the current demand, and it is wrong on the part of the government to deprive people the opportunity to travel in AC buses. The MMRTA has allowed private buses to run point-to-point services, which ideally means that people can form groups and pool into a single bus. Regional transport office (RTO) officials said they are working on an app that will allow people to book these private buses.