MUMBAI: It’s the end of the road for the iconic non-AC diesel double deckers of Mumbai. Friday will mark the final run of the last remaining old bus in Andheri with passengers and bus fans. One of them will be Shubham Padave, who has been travelling on these twin-deck ‘gentle giants’ since he was five.
“Hamari gaadi sab se badi, we are the king of the road,” was what Padave would shout out as five-year-old in 2002 while enjoying a breezy ride on the upper deck front seat of a double-decker. Today, at the age of 26, he got emotional while watching the stairs of the old retiring bus while climbing to the upper deck. “These are not regular steps, but steps to heaven for bus fans like us,” he said, adding commuters were thrilled by these double-deckers, with engines roaring like a lion and the sweet sound of the metal bell. “It would be rung four times—twice for the lower deck and twice for upper,” he said.
On one of the last diesel double-deckers from Andheri station to Seepz were first-time commuters who had come to enjoy the breeze on the upper deck and a man and his grandson out to relive the experience of the upper deck front seats. Someone vacated a seat for them so the child could get a good view. Akash Yadav, a Class 11 student said he prefers the old bus with open windows for fresh air and ventilation. “It is a privilege getting to travel during these last few days as we will not get to see the buses anymore,” said office-goer Sakshi Thakur, who works in MIDC. Thakur is not so keen on new AC double-deckers, except for the fact that they are environment-friendly.
BEST general manager Vijay Singhal told mediapersons on Thursday that double-deckers will continue in their “new avatar” of electric AC double-deckers; 900 such new buses are expected till July next year. “We have procured 35 AC double-deckers of which 16 already run in SoBo, four more will ply soon and 15 other buses will be in suburbs by September-end,” he added.
The bus conductor chipped in to say: “Hee Mumbai chi shaan hoti (It was Mumbai’s pride). Commuter rights activist Rupesh Shelatkar from Aapli BEST Aaplyachsathi says that his NGO has started a social media campaign to preserve the last few buses in a museum.
The last bus is expected to run at 9.30pm on Friday.
“Hamari gaadi sab se badi, we are the king of the road,” was what Padave would shout out as five-year-old in 2002 while enjoying a breezy ride on the upper deck front seat of a double-decker. Today, at the age of 26, he got emotional while watching the stairs of the old retiring bus while climbing to the upper deck. “These are not regular steps, but steps to heaven for bus fans like us,” he said, adding commuters were thrilled by these double-deckers, with engines roaring like a lion and the sweet sound of the metal bell. “It would be rung four times—twice for the lower deck and twice for upper,” he said.
On one of the last diesel double-deckers from Andheri station to Seepz were first-time commuters who had come to enjoy the breeze on the upper deck and a man and his grandson out to relive the experience of the upper deck front seats. Someone vacated a seat for them so the child could get a good view. Akash Yadav, a Class 11 student said he prefers the old bus with open windows for fresh air and ventilation. “It is a privilege getting to travel during these last few days as we will not get to see the buses anymore,” said office-goer Sakshi Thakur, who works in MIDC. Thakur is not so keen on new AC double-deckers, except for the fact that they are environment-friendly.
BEST general manager Vijay Singhal told mediapersons on Thursday that double-deckers will continue in their “new avatar” of electric AC double-deckers; 900 such new buses are expected till July next year. “We have procured 35 AC double-deckers of which 16 already run in SoBo, four more will ply soon and 15 other buses will be in suburbs by September-end,” he added.
The bus conductor chipped in to say: “Hee Mumbai chi shaan hoti (It was Mumbai’s pride). Commuter rights activist Rupesh Shelatkar from Aapli BEST Aaplyachsathi says that his NGO has started a social media campaign to preserve the last few buses in a museum.
The last bus is expected to run at 9.30pm on Friday.
