The Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) undertaking has expanded its fleet of double-decker electric buses, reaching a total of 24 vehicles.
After a two-month gap, 10 new electric buses have arrived at the Colaba depot and will soon be deployed for public service pending completion of RTO registration and formalities.
Interestingly, BEST now has more electric double-decker buses than conventional ones, as the latter’s numbers dropped below 20 due to the scrapping of older vehicles.
The current fleet size of BEST stands at 3,100, with several vehicles on wet lease, where private contractors handle fuel, maintenance, and driver salaries.
BEST had awarded a contract to Switch Mobility, a subsidiary of Ashok Leyland, for the supply of 200 double-decker electric buses.
By the end of March, the Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) received only two double-decker electric buses, and an additional 12 buses arrived by May. Out of these 12 buses, 10 were put into passenger service in June.
However, the remaining two buses were registered with the Tardeo Regional Transport Office (RTO) just earlier this week, despite having been parked at the Colaba depot for nearly two months.
A BEST official remarked that ideally, these buses should have been introduced during the summer when there is high demand for air-conditioned travel.
However, the deployment process has faced some delays, but efforts are being made to add more electric buses to serve the daily commute of around 30 lakh passengers in Mumbai and neighboring areas.
