On Sunday (19 January), BEST announced the launch of two new AC routes, this time in Goregaon. The routes announced were A-447 and A-646. A-447 travels from Goregaon Station (East) to Santosh Nagar (Extension) on the Film City Road while A-646 travels from Goregaon (East) Bus Station to Nagari Niwara 1&2.
On Tuesday (21 January), I headed to Goreagon East to take a trip on these buses. The buses are the same Force Motors Traveller Smart Citibus and are owned by Hansa City Bus (HCB) that also owns the mini-buses that operate at Andheri. However, they belong to the Dindoshi Depot (located on the Goregaon Mulund Link Road) that serves Goregaon (East), Kandivali (East) and Malad (East).
The misnomer here is that while BEST says the bus operates till 11.35 PM, they actually operate only in one direction. Post 9.35 PM, all the A-447s after terminating at Santosh Nagar (Extension) take a U-tun and head back to the depot, sans passengers. There is no schedule available on BEST’s app yet and the bus is not listed on the website. Note: None of of the AC routes are listed on BEST’s Route Network website: ( http://routenetwork.bestundertaking.com/ ). You only see them if you select Area and search for buses between two points. This problem also occurs on A-257 from Andheri Station to JVPD. Buses after 9 PM from Andheri drop off passengers at ESIC Nagar and then head to Oshiwara Depot without going ahead to the station.
I waited nearly 40 minutes for a bus back to the station but there were none. The conductor, seemingly new to this system started issuing tickets when the first bus took a U-turn. However, he then had to take them back and issue refunds after a ten minute wait. This happened with three more buses and each time, the driver didn’t bother talking to the conductor. On the other hand, the conductor called up folks at Goregaon Bus Station as well as Dindoshi Depot to find out if there was a bus or not and kept getting affirmative answers. Ultimately, at 10.40 PM, he was told that no more buses would come back to the station, at which point, those who had a ticket boarded a 447 (non-AC) with an AC ticket.
The conductor was evidently a bit irate at this point, and I would support his frustration. He ranted for a bit on the lack of coordination, stating that it was expected because this was the second day of the service. I told him it’s been happening at Andheri for over a week and he wasn’t surprised.
BEST needs better coordination. Much better coordination.
Note: I have an idea that could help solve this problem, (along with several other problems) that not just BEST, but other transport corporations may face. I’m in the process of writing a detailed article on the topic. Expect it in maybe a week. I can only give one hint: Motorola.
Featured Image: BEST’s A-447 at Goregaon Bus Station (East). Clicked by Srikanth Ramakrishnan.
conductor is correct .minibus scheme is aaditya thackre making money .check these companies .all registered in 2019.