Nearly two years after the first batch of AC minibuses hit the roads of Andheri, BEST finally seems to have given in to a long pending demand.
Till now, the two AC buses connecting Lokhandwala Complex to Andheri Station (West) A-266 and A-268, both terminated at Swami Samarth Nagar Circle. While A-266 went via Four Bunglows, A-268 went via Monginis Cake Company. There was no direct AC bus from Lokhandwala Complex to Andheri Station. The only air-conditioned connection from Lokhandwala Complex was A-234 that went to Jogeshwari Bus Station (West).
This was brought to light by our friends at the Andheri Lokhandwala Oshiwara Citizen’s Association (ALOCA) via an Instagram Post.
The route change took effect from 1 September 2021, just a fortnight short of the second anniversary of BEST launching these postvans.
I’m not sure about how the fare would work yet though. If the existing non-AC fare is ₹10, then this falls under the second stage and BEST would then be required to have two AC fares as well, which would be a problem with mini-buses. I will update this post as I get more information.
To read more about BEST’s single-stage operations using conductor-less buses, do read Explained: Why There Is No Direct AC Bus From Versova-Yari Road To Andheri Station.
To read more about my thoughts on conductor-less buses from 2015, do read Conductor-less buses: A boon or a bane?
Here’s a shoutout to our friends at ALOCA, do follow them on Twitter: @AndheriLOCA and Instagram: @andheri_loca.
Featured Image: A-266 at Andheri Station (West), clicked in December 2019 by me.
Till then, take care, stay safe, and take proper precautions while stepping out:
However comfortable they may be,they have a less charge of only 150 KM.BEST should then buy JBM ecolife.NMMT has 130 of them. Even BMTC has 250 of them in their fleet ! They are priced 3CRORE, but have more legroom,are very comfortable,and are also powerful,compared to Tata or AL. Also, best s new routes are horribly planned. Please,why not request BEST to start a route from Andheri station to Jalvayu Kharghar ? However long they are, they are good for nerul and Belapur residents who come to Andheri regularly for work. They are deciding feeder routes from Andheri, and all long routes from Borivali !!! WTH ?
Please request best for this route and also to ply more electric buses like JBM,Corona etc.
Please inform me back as soon as possible.
Thank you !!!