Taking A Break From Traditional Rivalry, BEST And TMT Get New Common Bus Stop At Mulund Station

In what seems to be a welcome break from the constant rivalry between different municipal transport bodies within the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR), the Birhanmumbai Electricity Supply and Transport (BEST) undertaking and the Thane Municipal Transport (TMT) undertaking have set up a combined bus shelter for both their buses at Mulund Station.

While the rivalry between BEST and TMT was predominantly along the coveted Thane-Borivali Route (AS-700 and AC-65), it eventually expanded to other routes including non-AC ones as well. Thankfully, it never went as bad as the relationship between BEST and the Navi Mumbai Municipal Transport (NMMT) undertaking went when in 2010, NMMT refused entry to BEST’s AS-505 to its bus station at CBD Belapur while BEST refused entry to AC-125 at Santacruz and Bandra Bus Station.

While BEST and TMT (also NMMT) buses do enter each others’ bus stations and halt at each others’ bus stops, they are always clearly demarcated. For example, at Agarkar Chowk, TMT buses stop at a unipole marked with TMT’s routes, similarly on the Thane Belapur Road, bus shelters will see a separate unipole for BEST buses.

The bus stop at Mulund is an initiative of the local corporator Prakash Gangadhare of the Bharatiya Janata Party, representing Ward No 104 of the T-Ward in the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM) who is also a member of the BEST committee. It was built by combining three existing bus stops –Dr Rajendra Prasad Road and Sardar Vallabhai Patel Road and Mulund Railway Station (West) and is located at Jata Shankar Dosa Road (JSD Road). The earlier TMT bus stops have been demolished by the MCGM.

BEST buses that earlier stopped at Dr Rajendra Prasad Road include the following: 303, 396 Ltd, 398 Ltd, 422, 424, 460 Ltd, C-16 Exp.
BEST feeder buses that earlier stopped at Sardar Patel Road include the following: 391, A-402, A405, A412.
TMT buses that stopped nearby earlier include: 85, 88, 102, 104, 110, 115, 122.

Fellow transit fan and BEST enthusiast Vishal Naik took some photographs of the bus stop. Another BEST enthusiast, Rupak Dhakate pointed out that the bus stops should be segregated since they would cause confusion between BEST and TMT users. He also pointed out that the current route signage did not differentiate bus routes based on the colour coding that BEST uses – black for regular, red for limited, blue for air-conditioned and green for express routes – another potential situation that may cause confusion.

Below are some pictures of the bus stop, clicked by Vishal Naik.

The new bus stop when viewed across the street (Vishal Naik)
The new bus stop when viewed across the street (Vishal Naik)
A unipole marking BEST buses that stop at this bus stop. Note that all of these buses are AC routes, and thus should have an A prefixed to them, which they don't. (Vishal Naik)
A unipole marking BEST buses that stop at this bus stop. Note that all of these buses are AC routes, and thus should have an A prefixed to them, which they don’t. (Vishal Naik)
A name board marking the bus stop as Dr Rajendra Prasad Road (Dr R. P Road) (Vishal Naik)
A name board marking the bus stop as Dr Rajendra Prasad Road (Dr R. P Road) (Vishal Naik)
A name board marking the bus stop as Sadar Vallabhai Patel Road (S. V. P Road) (Vishal Naik)
A name board marking the bus stop as Sadar Vallabhai Patel Road (S. V. P Road) (Vishal Naik)

Of course, there is a small problem. Apart from the congestion issues that Rupak mentioned earlier, there is also the issue of auto-rickshaws.

When BEST launched its AC mini-buses in Andheri in late 2019, auto-rickshaws cried foul as they quickly lost patrons. In the case of Mulund, it seems the auto-rickshaw fleet pre-empted that and decided that they’d park right in front of the new bus stop. Looks like the Mumbai Traffic Police have a task on their hands.

Auto-rickshaws waiting to pick up passengers right outside the new bus stop (Gandharva Purohit)
Auto-rickshaws waiting to pick up passengers right outside the new bus stop (Gandharva Purohit)

Let’s hope this bus stop does well for both BEST and TMT!

Featured Image: Photo of Prakash Gangadhare at the new bus stop (Gandharva Purohit)

Do follow Rupak on Twitter (slzrupak) and Instagram (@mlv.rupak).
Do follow Vishal on Twitter (@vnaik23) and Instagram (@not_huge).
Do follow Gandharva on Twitter (@gp30543).

If you intend to step out please wear a mask, carry sanitizer and maintain social distancing.

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Electric Buses Craze Hits MMR; BEST Leads The Way While NMMT Wants To Scrap Diesel Buses

In what could only be good news, the electric bus craze has finally hit the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) with BEST leading the way. According to a report by Rajendra Aklekar in Mid-Day, the Brihanmumbai Electricity Supply and Transport (BEST) undertaking has the maximum in its fleet. In December, BEST had received the first batch of a 340 bus order of Tata Ultra electric AC buses from Tata Motors. Prior to this, BEST had received both AC and non AC electric buses from Olectra (formerly Goldstone) and also had a fleet of Diesel Electric Hybrid buses from Tata Motors.

The Navi Mumbai Municipal Transport (NMMT) undertaking is second in the race, currently operating 30 air-conditioned JBM Solaris electric buses. NMMT is looking to set up 36 charging stations. NMMT has also stated in its recent municipal budget that it will eventually do away with its diesel buses and only ahve a fleet of electric and compressed natural gas (CNG) powered vehicles.

The Thane Municipal Transport (TMT) undertaking meanwhile got only one electric bus in the last three years, and this in turn has prompted the Mayor Thane to scrap the agreement and go in for a fresh one.

The Mira-Bhayendar Municipal Transport (MBMT) undertaking meanwhile is looking for places where it can set up charging stations.

Under the Modi sarkar’s Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Electric Vehicles in India (FAME India) Scheme, funding for 240 buses was allotted to Maharashtra out of a larger plan of 670 buses for Maharashtra, Gujarat, Goa and Chhattisgarh.

It seems the future of buses is indeed, electrifying.

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TMT Volvo Buses Feature Thermal Scanner For Passengers To Check Temperature On Entry

Several buses operated by the Thane Municipal Transport (TMT) undertaking have been fitted with thermal scanners for passengers to check their body temperature on entry into the bus. The scanner – essentially an infrared thermometer, much like the handheld ones that have become common recently – is located near the driver’s cockpit in the untertaking’s Volvo fleet where passengers generally enter from the front.

A note on the exterior of the bus states that the bus is equipped with a “temperature checking device in Marathi. Detailed instructions on how to use them are provided inside the bus next to the scanner.

Here is a picture of the scanner, clicked by fellow bus-fan Pankaj on Instagram.

TMT bus with thermal scanner. Picture via Pankaj's Instagram.
TMT bus with thermal scanner. Picture via Pankaj’s Instagram.

I’m not sure if other TMT buses or buses operated by any other transport body in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region are equipped with scanners yet.

AC buses operated by BEST are mostly on lease from private operators so including a scanner might be problematic. Further, given BEST’s minimum fare of ₹6 on AC buses, they remain crowded (especially in the absence of trains) and this may not work out well.

This measure, although welcome, should have been implemented at the start of the pandemic.

Let’s hope passengers make good use of it.

Also, don’t forget to follow Pankaj on Instagram: @_____pankaj____16

Also Read: Asian cities virus-proof public transit with smart shelters, thermal scanners by Rina Chandran for Reuters.

Also, if you intend to go out, don’t forget a mask and sanitizer!

Featured image: TMT Volvo on Route 126 (Dharmadhyaksha/Wikimedia Commons)

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A List Of All The AC Buses Currently Operating In Mumbai

BEST is launching newer AC buses with each week. Here is a list of all the AC buses that they operate.

Regular Routes: Mini/Midi buses using Force Motors/ Tata Marcopolo CNG/BYD Olectra buses

A-4 Andheri Station (West) to Oshiwara Depot/Goregaon Depot
A-3 Vijay Vallabh Chowk (Pydhonie) to Jijamata Udyan via Johar Chowk, Mazgaon, Byculla Station (East)
A-32 Goregaon Bus Station (West) to Aai Tuljabhavai Chowk/Lokhandwala Complex Junction/Infiniti Mall
A-33 Seven Bunglows Bus Station/Saat Bangla to Oshiwara/Goregaon Depot
A-42 Sandhurst Road Station to Pandit Paluskar Chowk (Opera House) via S.V.P Road
A-63 Byculla Station (West) to Breach Candy Hospital
A-77 Byculla Station (West) to Breach Candy Hospital via Mahalaksmi Station, Haji Ali
A-101 Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) to Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Chowk/Museum
A-102 Grant Road Station (East) to Vijay Vallabh Chowk (Pydhonie)
A-104 Grant Road Station to J Mehta Marg
A-105 Grant Road Station (West) to Kamala Nehru Park
A-110 Wadala Station (West) to Sangam Nagar (Vidyalankar)
A-111 Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) to Dr Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Chowk/Museum
A-112 Churchgate Station/Ahilyabai Holkar Chowk to Gateway of India
A-122 Churchgate Station/Ahilyabai Holkar Chowk to Ballard Pier
A-153 Bycull Station (West) to Vasantrao Naik Chowk (Tardeo) via Saat Rasta, Mumbai Central
A-155 Grant Road Station (West) Ring Route via Tardeo, Haji Ali, Jaslok Hospital Cumbala Hill Post Office, August Kranti Maidan, Nana Chowk
A-157 Grant Road Station (West) to Cumbala Hill Post Office via August Kranti Maidan
A-163 Parel Station (East) to Prabodhankar Thackeray Udyan Bus Station (Sewree)
A-167 Prabhadevi Station (West) to Comrade P. K. Kurne Chowk/Worli Doordarshan
A-170 Prabhadevi Station (West) to Lower Parel Railway Station (West)
A-174 Wadala Station (East) to Bharani Naka
A-180 Oshiwara Depot/Goegaon Depot to Jogeshwari Bus Station
A-203 Andheri Station (West) to Juhu Bus Station
A-210 Versova Yari Road Bus Station to Monginis
A-211 Bandra Station (West) to Chuim Village
A-214 Bandra Station (West) to Mount Mary Steps
A-217 Dadar Station (East) Ring Route via KEM Hospital
A-217 Dadar Station (East) to KEM Hospital
A-219 Bandra Station (West) to Bandra Reclamation Bus Station
A-220 Bandra Station (West) to Sherly Village
A-221 Andehri Station (West) to Natasha Towers
A-234 Jogeshwari Bus Station to Shree Swami Samarth Nagar
A-235 Andheri Station (West) to Monginis
A-248 Andheri Station (West) to Ramesh Nagar
A-249 Andheri Station (West) to Seven Bunglows Bus Station
A-251 Seven Bunglows Bus Station to Versova Yari Road Bus Station
A-252 Andheri Station (West) to Sardar Vallabhai Patel Nagar (Mhada Layout)
A-254 Andheri Station (West) to Veera Desai Road (Extension)
A-257 Andheri Station (West) Ring Route via Juhu Vile Parle Bus Station (JVPD Bus Station)
A-260 Oshiwara Depot to Indian Oil Nagar (D. N. Nagar Metro Station)
A-266 Andheri Station (West) to Swami Samarth Nagar Circle
A-268 Andheri Station (West) to Shree Swami Samarth Nagar
A-273 Malad Station (West) to Malvani Block No 5
A-302 Rani Lakshmi Chowk (Sion) to Maharana Pratap Chowk/Mulund Check Naka
A-312 Rani Lakhsmi Chowk (Sion) to Pratiksha Nagar Depot
A-337 Agarkar Chowk to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport Terminal 2
A-338 Agarkar Chowk to Sahar Cargo Complex
A-341 Rani Laksmi Chowk (Sion) to Antop Hill Bus Station
A-352 Rani Lakshmi Chowk (Sion) to Trombay
A-361 Chembur Colony to Mahul Village via Vashi Naka
A-362 Deonar Depot to Kurla Station (East)
A-363 Chembur Colony to SRA Colony (Mahul)
A-367 Chembur Colony to Gadkari Quary
A-369 Chembur Colony to MMRDA Colony/Vashi Naka
A-372 Anushakti Nagar to Shivaji Nagar Junction
A-441 Agarkar Chowk to Mhada Colony (Majas)
A-447 Goregaon Station (East) to Santosh Nagar (Extension)
A-451 Goregaon Station (East) to Adarsh Nagar (Aarey)
A-452 Goregaon Station (East) to Mayur Nagar
A-481 Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Udyan, Chembur to MMRDA Colony, Vashi Naka
A-624 Malad Station (East) Poddar Park to Anand Nagar/Appa Pada
A-646 Goregaon Station (East) to Nagari Niwara 1&2 via IT Park

BKC Routes: MMRConnect Buses using Tata Starbus Hybrid buses

BKC-10 BKC Telephone Exchange to Borivali Railway Station (East)
BKC-11 Bandra Railway Termninus to Hiranandani Estate (Thane West)
BKC-12 Bandra Railway Terminus To Jalvayu Vihar (Kharghar)
BKC-13 Bandra Railway Terminus to Maharana Pratap Chowk/Mulund Check Naka Bus Station
BKC-16 Agarkar Chowk to SEEPZ Village
BKC-21 Bandra (East) Bus Station to Bharat Diamond Bourse
BKC-22 MMRDA Pay and Park (BKC) to Kurla Station (West)
BKC-23 Bandra (East) Bus Station to C.A Institute (BKC)

NMMT AC Buses (only those entering Mumbai city limits)

AC-103 Panvel Railway Station (West) to Hindamata Cinema (Dadar)
AC-105 Bandra Railway Station (West) to CBD Belapur Bus Station
AC-107 World Trade Centre to CBD Belapur Bus Station (via Eastern Freeway)
AC-108 World Trade Centre to Nerul Sector 46/48
AC-110 World Trade Centre to Jalvayu Vihar (Kharghar)
AC-111 World Trade Centre to CBD Belapur Bus Station (via Parel, Dadar)
AC-115 World Trade Centre to Kharkopar Railway Station
AC-121 World Trade Centre to Gansoli/Gharona
AC-123 Borivali Railway Station (East) to Owe Gaon/CISF
AC-124 Agarkar Chowk to Karave Nagar, Nerul
AC-125 Borivali Railway Station (East) to Asud Depot
AC-126 Borivali Railway Station (East) to Panvel Railway Station (West)
AC-127 Ghatkopar Station (East) to Vashi Railway Station
AC-131 Borivali Railway Station (East) to Ghansoli Depot

TMT AC Buses (only those entering Mumbai city limits)

AC-65 Borivali Railway Station (East) to Thane Station (East)/Kopri
AC-125 Agarkar Chowk to Kasarvadavali Naka
AC-126 Reserve Bank of India (BKC) to Hiranandani Estate (Patlipada)
AC-144 Cadbury Junction to Mantralaya

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Featured Image: Tri-Services at Chakala (Srikanth Ramakrishnan/Twitter)

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Saving the BEST: A look back

Saving the BEST, a wonderful article by Rajendra Aklekar, journalist and author of the highly acclaimed book ‘Halt Station India’, appeared on Sunday’s edition of The Hindu. I’m going to attempt to reinterpret his article with a little bit of my own thoughts in the process.

Mumbai has traditionally been dependent on its railway lines for commuting. This dependency has been justified by their reach, optimal efficiency, and reliability. This makes them more than just a Rail Network. It makes it a lifeline, because it brings together the entire Mumbai Metropolitan Region.

The story with the road is similar. BEST buses have been on the roads for quite a while now. Motor Buses were to make their first appearance in 1913, operated by the Bombay Electricity Supply and Tramways Company Limited [BES &T Co. Ltd] which was set up in 1907, but didn’t turn up till 1926 because of World War I. Prior to this, the Bombay Tramway Company Limited operated horse-drawn trams in Bombay from 1873 with Electric Trams appearing on the scene in 1906 after BES&T took over the BTC. Today, BEST’s ubiquitious red buses form the last mile [or kilometre] connectivity for millions of passengers from both the city itself, as well as its suburbs and satellite towns.

However, things are changing. BEST is already in knee-deep trouble, getting passengers, especially for its lacklusture AC services that have been beaten by NMMT and TMT, although BEST is seemingly gaining a steady foothold after the recent fare revision. Further, app-based aggregators, including Ola, Uber, ZipGo, Shuttl, rBus, are all eating into BESTs revenue. To add to this, the Mumbai Metropolitan Regional Transport Authority [MMRTA] is now allowing private buses to ply point to point within the city without a permit.

The fault here lies in not only the competition, but also BEST. Corruption, Politics, Unions, all have made the Red Bus seemingly irrelevant in today’s life.

To put it in figures, BESTs Transport Deficit is -₹858.02crore. Its Electricity Surplus of ₹925.41crore is what is keeping it floating, along with some cash flowing in from the MCGM.

While it common to understand that Public Transport, being considered Public Service is bound to go thru losses, why are BESTs coffers in such a precarious state?

As Mr. Aklekar puts it, it all has to do with the management of BEST. It has an Administrative Wing and a Committee that is a Political Body. The two often overstep their boundaries, since it is blurred, and cause skirmishes, which leads to losses.

Along with this, it is also BESTs lack of keeping pace. NMMT and TMT went the BMTC way by procuring high-end Volvo buses while BEST remained with their scam-tainted Punjab-made Cerita fleet that were procured under the name of ‘Kinglong’ buses. This, along with the fact that BEST had abysmally high fares for their dilapidated buses just made things worse. BEST’s ITS was a total failure, because it required users to send an SMS and was full of bugs. Later on, it got shut down. Of course, let us not forget BEST’s tryst with Electronic Ticketing, which for a Municipal Level Transco, is a commendable effort, one worthy of a case study.

While BEST doesn’t provide WiFi on buses, something the Mumbai Metro does, I have seen a bus with a White Box behind the Driver saying WiFi. Maybe this was a one-off trial.

While Mr. Aklekar points out that BEST didn’t have a public time-table, I did find out that BEST did indeed have one, visible on its website when searching for a route, and also visible on the Mobile app m-Indicator. Of course, the increased traffic on the city’s roads have practically rendered timetables useless. Last September, the day after Anant Chaturdashi, I ended up catching the 9.30 AS4 from NSCI to Backbay at 10.15 thanks to the traffic.

When Delhi can track its Cluster buses and Autos, why can’t BEST? 3500 buses aren’t hard to track. BEST can set up a system on a Public-Private Partnership and licence its API for others to use if they’re unable to give it out for free.

He also talks of bus stops using electricity for advertising. The power can also be used to light it up for the safety of commuters, as well as a Public Information system for arrivals. I believe this should be easy, atleast within town limits, given that BEST supplies power there. BEST can also explore the possibility of solar powered bus stops.

Why can’t BEST go the Ola-Uber way and tap into the Google Maps API to show where a bus is? Get an app, track buses, guide commuters to the nearest bus stop. Let them buy a ticket with the app! Paper tickets are great. Make them greater. Print some ads on them. BEST used to do so with their earlier punched tickets. Why not now? Print a WiFi password on it as well, so that commuters with a ticket can use it. Passholders can probably have it using an app!

While I had earlier stated that I would be favour of participation from the private sector to keep the city’s transport in shape, the case with BEST is peculiar. The decentralised nature of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region allows each Municipal Corporation to run their own buses. Why can’t BEST, NMMT and TMT coordinate their bus services? Why do they have their toxic competition?

BEST represents the city of Mumbai in many ways. It is a Heritage structure in itself. If not for anything else, BEST, its red buses, their bell pulls, the Double Deckers, makes the Undertaking unique in India. Even the Purple Faeries make them unique.

BEST needs to get its act together. Or else India’s Oldest Transport Body, a crucial part of Mumbai’s Heritage, Culture and History would be lost to the annals of time.

 

Click here to read Rajendra Aklekar’s article Saving the BEST.

Click here to buy Rajendra Aklekar’s Halt Station India

 

 

 

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BEST slashed its AC fares by half. What happened then is obvious!

BEST recently slashed its AC fares by 50%. The results of this, while obvious, are quite shocking.

BEST also introduced several new routes: AS-71, AS-72, AS-318, AS-415.

Earlier, NMMT and TMT AC buses would always run full while BEST buses were like Chauffeur services, with one or two passengers in some of them. The reasons were clear: BEST used its Purple Faeries while the other two use Volvos, and further, BEST charged one and a half [1.5x] times what the other two charged.

But not any more. BEST’s minimum AC fares have come down from ₹30 to ₹15 while NMMT and TMT charge ₹20.

The Net Result?

BEST’s AC buses are seeing a higher patronage. BEST, whose ridership had fallen from 43lakh to 30lakh, is now trying to get it to 45lakh.

Take a look below and see how two AC buses are performing.

AS-318

This is AS-318 at Bandra Bus Station [East] towards the Bharat Diamond Bourse in Bandra Kurla Complex.

As you can see in the picture, the bus is quite full.

BEST bus AS-310.
BEST bus AS-310. Image copyright Coolguyz.

AS-415

This is AS-415 from Agarkar Chowk to SEEPZ. As you can see, the bus is full of passengers.

BEST bus AS-415.
BEST bus AS-415. Image Copyright Coolguyz.

When was the last time you saw a BEST AC bus full of passengers? 2009? 2010.

With BEST getting the new Tata Starbus Hybrid fleet soon, things are just going to improve.

Of course, as stated earlier, BEST needs to get rid of the Cerita fleet soon and go for more powerful Ashok Leyland, Corona, Scania and Volvo buses to sustain this increase in passengers.

BEST slashed its AC fares by half. What happened then will NOT blow your mind! Click To Tweet

Images courtesy Coolguyz from Skyscrapercity.

Go ahead. Share this article. Share the joys of traveling in India’s Oldest Public Transport Company.

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[Satire] BEST announces BEST Dish Of The Day

In a move to boost employee morale and get more publicity, BEST has come up with a new programme.

Capitalising on Masterchef’s Best Dish of the Day concept, BEST officials decided that the new program will help boost publicity and the morale of staff and their families.

A BEST staff member from the Colaba Depot excitedly announced that, the Spouses of BEST employees would be cooking under this new scheme. The dish which manages to satisfy the judge or judges the most will be awarded BEST Dish of the Day and will then be sold in BEST’s Mobile Food House [Phirte Upahar Grih/फिरते उपहार गृह ] to tourists who use BEST’s Mumbai Darshan service. It will have a big banner with BEST Dish of the Day, and बेस्ट डिश ऑफ़ दि डे , written on it.

BEST's Phirte Upahar Grih, Mobile Food Van, Canteen On Wheels.
BEST’s Phirte Upahar Grih, Mobile Food Van, Canteen On Wheels. Image copyright Neeraj Pattath, CC-BY-SA 3.0 Unported, available on the Wikimedia Commons.

According to sources, negotiations are underway to rope in Akshay Kumar, who hosted the first season of Master Chef in India as the judge for the program. Sanjeev Kapoor is also rumoured to have been contacted. One staffer even suggested that the Undertaking should try and rope in British food writer and celebrity chef Nigella Lawson to increase BESTs visibility to the world.

When contacted, BEST General Manger Jagdish Patil’s assistant responded by saying that his boss had gone for a food tasting. He said, “BEST has a brand name, and we must capitalise on this. Boss was joking about how Navi Mumbai cannot have an NMMT Dish of the Day, because it sounds stupid. He did say that TMT could capitalise on its brand name because its buses were falling apart like a bunch of rusted, loosely held TMT rods. This is one area where they cannot copy us, or outperform us.”

When contacted, NMMT General Manager Shirish Aradwad seemed a little irate. “They cannot focus on buses, now they are focusing on food also? We’ll make sure their food doesn’t enter our Depots just like we stopped AS-505 from entering the CBD Belapur Bus Stand. They say they’ll sell the dish made by spouses on the Mobile Catering Van, right? Well, we’ll get every employee of ours, to cook food and sell it on every bus. We’ll provide every bus with a stove running on the bus CNG tank and a chimney so that conductors can cook in between stages and drivers can cook while waiting at signals. We’ll even rewire the Bell Pull to stir the food when the conductor is selling tickets.”, he retorted.

One hopes that whatever happens, happens soon, and all of us have our tummies full.

BEST decides to award the BEST Dish of the Day! Click To Tweet

Note: All content in this article is fictitious, and must not be taken seriously. This article is satire, and should ideally be treated as such.

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New Innings for BEST

In another revolutionary move, BEST has decided to focus on becoming more public-transport centric and turn itself from a loss making body to a profitable one. In other words, BEST has decided to become the BEST, by taking on NMMT and TMT head-on.

Update: BEST has announced reduced bus fares and passes from 01-07-16. AC passes are back to ₹150, with a new Child rate for children under 12. Happy Hours have been introduced as well. More details here: BEST Fare Revision 2016

BEST has decided a reshuffle of its AC routes, cancelling two, reconsidering a few and proposing a few more!

Now, the interesting thing is that BEST is reconsidering two routes via T2 of the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport. BEST earlier ran dedicated AC express routes from the airport such as A1Express from T2 to CBD Belapur Bus Station and A14Express to Cadbury Junction. Among the routes being canceled are A76Express from Gorai Depot to NSCI Worli via the Bandra Worli Sea Link and AS592 from Kopar Khairane to NSCI Worli. Routes that almost got scrapped include:

  • AS9 from Ghatkopar Depot to Dr. Shyama Prasad Mookherjee Chowk
  • A74Express from Oshiwara Depot to NSCI Worli
  • A75Express from Hirandani Powai to NSCI Worli
  • A77Express from Gorai Depot to BKC Telephone Exchange

Routes that are being proposed include:

  • AS71 from Fishermen Colony, Mahim to Mira Road East, via CSIA T2
  • AS72 from Rani Laxmi Chowk, Sion to Bhayendar East, via CSIA T2
  • As415 from Agarkar Chowk to SEEPZ via Marol Depot

A lit of canceled, proposed BEST AC Routes
A list of canceled, proposed BEST AC Routes

Apart from this, 50 routes across the 27 depots are slated to be cancelled.

What started all this?

A simple change in the BEST committee in the MCGM. After close to a decade, the BJP took over the committee from the Shiv Sena. Rather ironic, given that the Sena is anti-Toll while the BJP is pro-Toll. If you recall, it was the Sena that hiked the fares of BEST in 2015, first in February and then in April in 2015.

A quick recap would show that the BJP has always been adept at providing good transport wherever it has been, be it in the form of the Mumbai-Pune or Ahmedabad-Vadodara Expressways, the BRTS corridors in Ahmedabad, Rajkot, Surat, Bhopal and Indore, BMTC and KSRTC which showed a massive turnaround under R Ashoka, the erstwhile Transport Minister of Karnataka.

Back in 2005, BEST, had introduced the Smart Card system with Kaizen Automation, in the form of the Go Mumbai smart card, which was a common mobility smart card for both BEST buses as well as trains on the Suburban Railway. These were subsequently phased out in favour of the present Trimax system that BEST uses.

Rebranding

BEST, which officially turns 70 in its current form next year, and currently has a debt burden of ₹2,250 crore, plans to change its logo as well the colour of the buses in a major move to rebrand itself.

BEST has written to the Sir JJ Insititute of Applied Arts, one of the city’s premier art institutes to guide it in the process. The colour change is part of an exercise to make BEST more acceptable among customers.

The Mumbai Monorail, operated by the MMRDA, got the National Institute of Design [NID], Ahmedabad to design its coaches. One hopes that BEST too, would reach out to NID, or maybe even the Centre for Enviornment, Planning and Technology [CEPT], Ahmedabad for some ideas in design and operations.

Passes

Among other changes, are the rates of passes, monthly, as well as daily passes.

While the Major changes are the the reduction of the Monthly AC bus pass from ₹4800 to ₹3300, a significant change is the reduction of the Magic Daily Passes:

  • Magic AC: ₹200 to ₹150.
  • Magic Non-AC: ₹70 to ₹51.
  • Suburban Pass: ₹50 to ₹36.
  • Island City/Town: ₹40 to ₹29.

However, these are valid only during the Happy Hour period of 11am to 5pm.

The question here is, if the pass is cheaper post 11am, nobody would buy a pass before that. An alternative explanation is that passes purchased between 11am and 5pm are not valid during the rest of the day, which is an inconvenience to those who might purchase a pass after 11am, but may need to use it at 9pm. I guess, an official explanation from BEST would be the best thing to wait for.

While, BEST currently has good integration with the Suburban Rail, what is desired it better integration with the Metro, Monorail, and MSRTC services.

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The BEST way to Imagica

Please Note: BEST has discontinued services to Imagica a long time ago. You can check Imagica’s official website for more details on their buses: 

Click here to go to the Imagica website’s page for bus trips to and from the park

Also; do consider getting a pair of these socks:

BEST recently announced that it would ply AC services to Imagica.

Yep, you heard that right. BEST, which has been incurring heavy losses for several years now, has decided it will ply AC buses to Imagica. Apart from this, BEST has managed to get Diamond Traders to sign a ₹80,000 agreement for bus services from Andheri to Seepz.

BEST is also looking at tying up with IPL to provide bus connectivity to stadiums during matches, something that BMTC has been doing for the past few years.

BEST also announced that they were in talks with Essel World to provide buses.

The bus to Imagica leaves from CST at 7am in the morning and costs ₹500 for a round trip. Tickets can be booked the previous night on Imagica’s website.

Now, the question is, what buses is BEST using? Since it is a weekend bus, they can probably use the Volvo on Sunday when AS-4 is not operational.

A BEST Volvo on Route AS-4 from Backbay Depot to Oshiwara Depot.
A BEST Volvo on Route AS-4 from Backbay Depot to Oshiwara Depot. Image copyright Srikanth Ramakrishnan, CC-BY-SA 4.0 International, available on the Wikimedia Commons.

Using them Purple Faeries on this route, would severely ruin BEST’s image as only a handful of them are good, mostly from the Oshiwara Depot.

A BEST Cerita running on route AS 461. Also known as them Mumbai Purple Faeries.
A BEST Cerita running on route AS 461. Image copyright Srikanth Ramakrishnan, licenced under CC-BY-SA 4.0, available on the Wikimedia Commons.

The BEST must not make the BMTC mistake however. BMTC rents out its newer Volvo buses to corporate bodies such as Manayata Embassy Business Park [MEPB] and the Outer Ring Road Companies Association [ORRCA] and leaves the older, much older KA-01-FA series Volvo buses for the public to use. This is a good opportunity for BEST to resurrect the pathetic image that the AC fleet today has earned and replace it with the Premium luxury one that MSRTC enjoys for itself. BEST must ensure that all six Volvo buses don’t go for corporate trips leaving us at the mercy of the Purple Faeries. The Volvo buses must continue running on AS-4 and be used on the Fort Pheri services instead of idling at Backbay Depot. Similarly, BEST can use the AC buses that arrive at Colaba Depot as AS-9 on similar ring routes in SoBo with a subsidised fare to make them lucrative. This is needed, to keep the fleet running.

All said and done, I’m now excited at the prospect of seeing a BEST bus on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway and hope to get to click a photograph soon.

Route and schedule

The BEST Bus to Imagica leaves CST at 7.15am. The following are it’s pickup points and their timings:

  1. Mumbai CST at 7.15am. [Bhatia Baug Bus Station]
  2. Bhendi Bazar at 7.25am. [Route No. 1 Bus Stop]
  3. Byculla Station at 7.35am. [Route No. 1 Bus Stop]
  4. Jai Hind Cinema at 7.45am. [Route No. 1 Bus Stop]
  5. Lalbaug at 7.50am. [Route No. 1 Bus Stop]
  6. Parel TT at 8.00am. [Route No. 1 Bus Stop]
  7. Dadar TT [Khodadad Circle] at 8.10am. [Route No. 1 Bus Stop]
  8. Maheshwari Udhyan at 8.15am. [Route No. 504 Bus Stop]

Arrival at Adlabs Imagica at 10.30am.

Tickets can be booked on the Adlabs Imagica Website.

Buses from Borivali are provided by Neeta Travels. Who knows, this might be BEST soon.

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The curious case of BEST and its AC buses

BEST and AC buses don’t exactly go hand-in-hand. Atleast not anymore. BEST should think of a way to reverse that.

Not so unusual site! An AC BEST of Mulund Depot runs southwards on BRTS-1 at Lalbaug
One of the original Ashok Leyland AC buses that the BEST procured in 1998. Image copyright, Ojas Parab, Flickr.

BEST introduced AC buses, back in 1998. These buses were built by Ashok Leyland and had Opening Windows. Tickets were a bit on the higher side, and included a newspaper [English or Marathi] and a 300ml bottle of water. These buses operated on the following routes routes initially:

  • A1 – Hutatma Chowk to Andheri Station (West)
  • A2 – World Trade Centre to Oshiwara Depot
  • A4 – Hutatma Chowk to Ghatkopar Bus Station
  • A422 – Agarkar Chowk to Mulund Bus Station
  • A461 – Mulund Bus Station (West) to Borivali Station (West)

These buses ran mostly in the mornings and evenings, mainly serving the office-crowd.

In 2008, under then General Manager Uttam Khobragade, BEST procured the first set of their purple ”Kinglong” buses. It took a lot of time to figure out that these Purple Faeries weren’t actually Kinglong buses. These buses were assembled in Punjab by Jaycee Coach Builders Limited [JCBL] and sold under their ”Cerita” brand.

The Kinglong buses owned by BEST were not Kinglong at all. Click To Tweet
A BEST Cerita running on route AS 461. Also known as them Mumbai Purple Faeries.
A BEST Cerita running on route AS 461. Image copyright Srikanth Ramakrishnan, licenced under CC-BY-SA 4.0, available on the Wikimedia Commons.

These buses were powered by CNG, and unlike other AC buses, didn’t have a slave engine to power the air-conditioning unit, thus resulting in slow speeds and bad pickup. In simple terms, they struggle to climb the simplest of slopes. Yet, they had comfortable seats. These Purple Faeries used to breakdown frequently and some of them caught fire, thus leading to deteriorating quality of BEST AC services.

Somewhere around this time, BEST received a CNG version of the Volvo 8400 on the B7RLE chassis for trial runs. After a few weeks of trial runs from the Oshiwara depot, the bus was transferred to the Wadala Depot, after wihch it was returned to Volvo. Unfortunately, BEST never purchased the bus. It had a separate Slave Engine to power the AC, thus overcoming all the shortfalls of the Cerita buses.

Post this, BEST inked a deal with an advertising firm called Asian Concierge who were ready to supply BEST with 50 Diesel-powered Volvo 8400s in exchange for full body advertisements on them for 15 years. The deal was quite revolutionary and would have changed the transport scene, however, only 6 buses were procured. All of them belong to the Oshiwara Depot and ply on AS-4 between Oshiwara Depot and Backbay Depot.

A BEST Volvo on Route AS-4 from Backbay Depot to Oshiwara Depot.
A BEST Volvo on Route AS-4 from Backbay Depot to Oshiwara Depot. Image copyright Srikanth Ramakrishnan, CC-BY-SA 4.0 International, available on the Wikimedia Commons.
BEST was given 50 Volvo buses free, in lieu of advertising rights. Click To Tweet

Now, the deal is that BEST, which was among the first Transcos in India to get AC buses is slowly phasing them out because of competition from the TMT, NMMT and MSRTC. For starters, BEST used to run a bus AS-505 from Santacruz Depot to CBD Belapur. They curtailed it because NMMT flooded the roads with AC-105 which ran from Bandra Bus Station to CBD Belapur. When I requested BEST to restart AS-505, they replied stating that it was a loss making route, and hence would not be possible. However, BEST’s 505Ltd is among the most profitable routes in the sector. Subsequently, NMMT has launched AC-106 which goes to CBD Belapur via Nerul (West). AC-105 remains their most profitable route.

Similarly, BEST’s AS-700 is doing miserably these days between Borivali Station (East) and Thane Station (East) because of competition from both TMT’s AC-65, AC-125, and NMMT’s AC-131. Now I can understand. Borivali comes under the jurisdiction of the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai and Thane under the Thane Municipal Corporation, both pass through the jurisdiction of the Mira-Bhayandar Municipal Corporation as well, but NMMT? AC-131 starts from Borivali Station (East), takes the same route via Ghodbunder Road to reach Kopri [Thane Station], from where it proceeds to Airoli Sector 5, via the Mulund-Airoli Bridge, thus running a total of 9km within its own jurisdiction. What is the need to enter Thane Station? NMMT plies two more AC routes to Borivali, AC-123 and AC-125, from Borivali to Ova Camp in Kharghar. Both take Jogeshwari Vikhroli Link Road, where one takes LBS Marg, and the other the Eastern Express Highway, to reach the Mulund Airoli Bridge and then continue along Thane-Belapur Road. Where is the logic in this? The irony is that if you calculate the number of stops between Dindoshi Junction and the Mulund Airoli Bridge Toll Plaza; here is the interesting result that you get:

  • BEST 523 Ltd has 42 stops.
  • BEST 525 Ltd has 36 stops.
  • BEST AS-524 has 23 stops.
  • NMMT AC-123 has 43 stops.
  • NMMT AC-125 has 36 stops.

This makes BEST the fastest on this route. With fewer stops, any bus runs faster. This is the theory under which Limited Stop Services normally operate.

TMT runs a bus from Cadbury Junction to Agarkar Chowk in Andheri East. This bus enters Mumbai via the Mulund (West) Check Naka and takes the same route as AS-422 to reach Andheri. It travels a total of 3.5 km within Thane and close to 21km in Mumbai. NMMT’s Borivali to Kharghar routes overlap majorly with BEST’s AS-461.

As if all this was not enough, the MSRTC, went one level over all of this, by launching their now-discontinued Shivneri Corporate service. These buses where the regular Shivneri Volvo B7R buses running along the Kandivali-Bandra Kurla Complex [BKC] route, non-stop. BEST plies A77Express on the same route, at the same hours. The only difference was that A77Express started from Gorai, took all flyovers on the Western Express Highway and had a total of 20 odd stops while the Shivneri had none. The service was soon shelved because the fare of ₹100 one way was too high.

What BEST must do now:

BEST must start looking into the profitable routes of the competition and find ways to maximize its revenue streams there. One must remember that all TMT and NMMT AC routes enter Mumbai. None of them are entirely within their territories.

BEST here has an advantage that they must make use of completely. Electronic Ticketing Machines and the Public Information System are two features that only BEST has in its kitty. Prepaid cards, a Daily Pass system for AC buses, and GPS based tracking of buses is what can help position BEST above its competition.

BEST must also pursue the matter with Asian Concierge for the remaining of the 50 Volvo buses so that newer routes can be planned. BEST must allocate these buses onto these routes.

Possible Routes BEST can try out are:

  • Restart AS-505 from Santacruz Depot to CBD Belapur. Run it every half an hour. Make sure the Bus Tracking system works for it.
  • Start a bus, exclusively for the Western Suburbs. It can be on the lines of AS-4 from Oshiwara, but should terminate at Bandra, and can take alternate routes like going into Seven Bunglows and taking the route taken by 56. Run it at half hour intervals. With rising auto fares, people will definitely take these buses. Start similar buses along the Central Suburbs in both West and East.
  • Increase the frequency of AS-6 which connects Backbay Depot to King’s Circle. Let this be a bus that connects the Central Part of South Mumbai. Similarly run a bus from Backbay to Chembur along the Eastern areas. The Western part of South Mumbai is served by AS-4, whose frequency should be increased.
  • Start an AC bus from Mantralaya to CBD Belapur and to Kopar Khairane. Route these buses via Tadeo, Lotus (Worli) and then go towards Navi Mumbai. Perhaps an Express service can work here, via the Sea Link, land up at Sion and go on to CBD Belapur, while avoiding Vashi Bus Station.

BEST must innovate and provide more options for commuters. BEST has an edge over the other two players, which it is sadly not making good use of. Being India’s oldest Public Transport Corporation, I hate to see BEST lose out to newer entities who are just flooding the roads with their buses, and turning BEST buses into Bus. No 8954.

BEST must innovate with their AC fleet for the benefit of Mumbai. Click To Tweet

In 2015, BEST brought out some drastic measures including curtailing of a few routes, reducing frequencies of AS700, cancelling AS706, and scrapping AS422 on Sundays.

Early 2016, NMMT placed orders for Volvo B7RLEs that were Diesel-Electric Hybrids. Shortly after that, MMRDA purchased 25 AC Tata Starbus Electric-Diesel Hybrids which would ply on dedicated lanes in Bandra-Kurla Complex. The impact of it, is to be seen.

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