After an amazing start in the last two months using its new minibuses, BEST has now decided to do something rather silly.
To give a background, these buses are super popular. In my previous post, I had mentioned the routes back then. Since then, BEST has added a few new routes in Andheri.
A-252 goes to Sardar Vallabhai Patel Nagar, A-266 and A-268 to Swami Samarth Nagar Circle (Lokhandwala Market), A-203 goes to Juhu Bus Station and A-221 has been extended to Natasha Towers.
BEST further extended the services from Andheri to Jogeshwari, running then on A-180 from Jogeshwari Bus Station to Oshiwara Depot and A-234 running from Jogeshwari to Lokhandwala.
BEST also announced two new routes from Wadala Station, A-174 from Wadala Station (West) to Bharani Naka and A-110 to Vidyalankar (Sangam Nagar).
The Wadala lot was flagged of by newly sworn in cabinet minister Aaditya Thackeray.
Junior Thackeray was instrumental in bringing in Humboldt Penguins from North Chile to Mumbai in 2016, where they were housed at the Veermata Jijabhai Udhyan (Byculla Zoo) prior to the untimely death of one of them. He was also pushing for more nightlife back in 2017, a move I had supported.
Also Read: More Nightlife In Mumbai Is Great But Can We Also Focus On Improved Public Transport?
BEST’s success in Andheri resulted in auto-rickshaws crying foul. BEST officials estimate that with an average of 12 trips a day per bus, it has affected nearly 5,292 auto rides per day. Of course, naysayers will be present. One expert questioned why BEST decided to send in such a large contingent to Andheri. The answer to that is simple: Trial and Error.
Why did BEST suddenly go on this path? They had after all cancelled all its AC routes after half a year of trying out happy hours and discounted fares, which did seem to be working. But they had burnt their fingers too much. The existing fleet of Purple Faeries had to be converted to a non-AC fleet, now mostly seen in SoBo.
It all began with former Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis appointing IAS officer Praveen Pardeshi as the Municipal Commissioner of Mumbai. After a six day-strike in December 2018-January 2019, and mounting losses of ₹1,000 crore, Pardeshi overrided BEST’s autonomy and provided a grant of ₹2,000 that allowed the undertaking to stand on its feet again.
Now, keeping these experiments in mind, BEST has altered some routes. As states earlier, A-221 now travels to Natasha Towers. A-249 has an additional stop at Dhake Colony. A-251 unfortunately travels only between Versova-Yari Road and Seven Bungalows while A-242 seems cancelled. A-257 is a ring route that goes from Andheri Station to JVPD Circle via JP Road and Link Road but then turns onto Gulmohar Road before reaching the station via Juhu Gali (CD Barfiwala Marg).
BEST has since launched a plethora of routes in SoBo as well. (Ignore the date, it should read 2020 instead of 2019.) Buses from Churchgate and CSMT to Ballard Pier, the Gateway of India, and Dr Syama Prasad Mukherjee Chowk (Museum). The Buses are A-122, A-111, A-112 and A-101. BEST has also cancelled A-54 and A-55 due to low patronage.
While this fleet is based on diesel buses, BEST runs A-167 from Comrade P K Kurne Chowk in Worli to Prabhadevi Station (West), A-352 from Rani Lakshmi Chowk (Sion Circle) to Trombay, A-302 from Rani Lakshmi Chowk to Maharana Pratap Chowk/Mulund Check Naka Bus Station using the Olectra Midi-bus fleet that are electric buses.
Now, BEST will also receive a batch of 500 midi CNG powered buses from Tata. Ten of them have already made their way to the Mumbai Central Depot.
In the midst of this, came some bad news.
Now, while the reason specified is ‘Administrative’, it doesn’t take a genius to know what’s going on here. If you really must know, look up who all form the current government, then read my first post on BEST’s AC buses followed by this article I had written for OpIndia.
The curious case of BEST and its AC buses
The ‘BEST’ scamster Indians should know about – Congress and the Khobragades have a lot to explain
Is BEST slipping back to its old ways?
Featured image by Karthik Nadar on Twitter.
