On Monday, the BEST undertaking admitted two bids from private contractors for tenders floated for new buses and work orders could be issued soon, sources said.
With these 2,400 single-decker buses, which will be inducted in phases spread over a year, BEST plans to increase its fleet strength to 8,000 buses from the existing 3,052. It will also improve the ratio of bus to population from one bus per 4,193 population to one bus per 1,576 population by 2024-end, sources said. The new e-buses will be 12m long and have more carrying capacity. The tender clause mentioned that the contractors can provide 25% more buses – 600 buses – in the near future, if required, said sources.
A transport expert, while welcoming BEST’s decision to procure more buses for Mumbai, said: “It will improve bus frequency, ensure more vehicles are deployed on busy office-going routes and reduce queues at bus stops.”
An official from BEST said there were also plans to have buses on feeder routes outside Metro stations 1, 2A and 7, and all corridors coming up across the city.
BEST general manager Vijay Singhal said he is serious about increasing the bus fleet. “We are procuring new buses and at the same time, expediting deliveries for pending orders of electric AC double-deckers and 12m-long single-decker buses,” he added.
Transport experts said the fleet size, which has dropped by 30% over the years, should double in a year to cater to a daily ridership of 50 lakh commuters. BMC commissioner I S Chahal had recently told TOI that the civic body will “support the transport undertaking” in increasing the bus fleet to a targeted 10,000 by 2027. BEST has placed orders for 2,100 single-decker buses, 200 electric AC double-deckers, 200 AC CNG and more Midi AC buses on wet lease, for which Singhal has personally interacted with senior management of the private agencies to expedite deliveries.
