If you drive a vehicle that runs on compressed natural gas (CNG), you would know the travails of standing in a queue to fill up, especially during weekends.
Last month, Mahanagar Gas Limited (MGL) and the Brihanmumbai Electricity Supply and Transport (BEST) undertaking announced a partnership wherein users can download the Tez app and book a slot for filling up their vehicles with gas. The service was initially made available at BEST’s Ghatkopar bus depot and has since been extended to the Oshiwara-Goregaon depots as well and according to MGL, will soon be available across all BEST depots.
You can download the MGL Tez app for Android phones form Google Play here: MGL-Tez on Google Play. There is no iOS app available as of now.
Below is a copy of BEST’s Press Note from 18 May.
BEST’s Press Note announcing the launch of the MGL Tez facility
BEST had earlier announced that it would set up charging points for electric vehicles at its depots which made sense given the aggressive push the undertaking made towards procuring electric buses. CNG filling stations also makes sense given that over half of the fleet is powered by CNG and both plans work as a great plan for BEST to augment is revenue streams and monetise its land assets. BEST had also announced that it would charge its electric buses using rooftop solar power generated by the undertaking’s power consumers.
Featured Image: BEST and MGL’s launch event (Photo: BEST via Twitter)
Did you know that there was actually a sport of double-decker bus racing? No kidding here, it’s true.
Between 1958 and 2007, the BBC ran a sports programme titled Grandstand. Rival channel ITV decided to get its own sports programme, titled World of Sports from 1965 to 1985. Part of the programming involved racing sports that were uncommon with the British audience at the time, such as ice speedway – a form of motorcycle racing on frozen surfaces – and NASCAR stock car racing.
In 1982, an interesting race was a part of the line-up. Double decker bus racing. You can see the video below.
World of Sports Double Decker Bus Racing
Now, according to a comment on Reddit by one hoksworthwipple, this is from 1982. The buses are Diamler Fleetlines from the N series (or N registration from 1975) and were operated by Transport for London (TfL). The race was held in Northampton. The event was hosted by Dickie Davis and the commentators were from the stock car racing staff and were Nigel King, Ron Pickering, or Frank Bough. The race was won by Terry Tellyn and bus number 4 was driven by Chris Critchett. It was also alleged that the race was fixed and buses bearing the sponsorship of Acorn Computers were to come first.
Now, this brings forth an interesting proposition. Mumbai’s remaining double decker buses are due to be phased out by the end of this year. Why not have a double decker race in India? India has three major racing tracks – Buddh International Circuit in Greater Noida, the Madras International Circuit in Chennai and the Kari Motor Speedway in Coimbatore. I jokingly suggested this idea to several busfans and got mixed results. While Jarvik was supportive of the idea, Yash fears that the buses could tip over. I was also told that BEST currently does so, mostly on routes between Kurla and Santacruz.
Featured Image: DMS1599 stands in the station on a 179 service to Barking at Chingford Bus Station on 19 April 1980. (Photo: Martin Addison / Chingford Bus Station / CC BY-SA 2.0)
The Brihanmumbai Electricity Supply and Transport (BEST) undertaking is looking at the possibility of running water taxi services between Gateway of India and various parts of Navi Mumbai including CBD Belapur, Uran and the Nhava Sheva Port (JNPT).
According to a report in the Times of India, the undertaking is in talks with the Maharashtra Maritime Board (MMB) and the Union Ministry of Shipping, Ports and Waterways (MoSPW) to study the requirements for running a water taxi service. According to the report, a water taxi boat costs ₹1.5 crore and can carry up to 12 passengers. With a budget deficit estimate of ₹2,000 crore in 2022-2033 and just a monthly grant of ₹60 crore per month from the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM), BEST’s parent body, the plan is currently in choppy waters.
BEST had launched a ferry service from Marve to Manori in the 1990s that was active in the early to mid 2000s. Here is a photograph of the same from 2005.
BEST’s water ferry service across the Manori Creek in 2005 (Photo: Nichalp/Wikimedia Commons)
A roll-on/roll-off or Ro-Ro system was flagged off in 2020 by Uddhav Thackery and Ajit Pawar but that wound up services eventually.
Mumbai’s water transport system is a fledgling system, mostly consisting of boats being used by fisherfolk or for tourist purposes, mainly on the Gateway of India to Gharapuri Island (Elephanta Caves) route. Between 1994 and 1999, hovercraft services were operated by Mahindra and Mahindra between Vashi and CBD Belapur in Navi Mumbai and the Gateway on the island city. Services, however, wound up due to lack of proper permanent infrastructure. In November 2021, hovercraft were spotted off the coast of Navi Mumbai but that seems to have been defence-related.
In 2012, the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) decided to explore the public-private participation (PPP) model which didn’t work out. The Maharashtra Maritime Board (MMB) meanwhile set up the the Mahrashtra Water Transport Corporation (MWTC) to as an SPV which would establish the required infrastructure while private players took up operations.
In an article for Swarajya, titled Here’s How Mumbai Can Create A Robust Water Transit System that I had written in 2018, I had explored the different ways that Mumbai could take up the system, largely based on the prevalent system in New York City back then.
I will write a follow-up to this on the different models that can be explored, ranging from the Hooghly Nadi Jalpath Paribahan Samabay Samiti Limited in Kolkata, the Staten Island Ferry, NYC Ferry, NY Waterway and New York Water Taxi in New York City, the London River Bus, as well as the Kochi Water Metro from Kochi.
Remember the Brihanmumbai Electricity Supply and Transport (BEST) undertaking’s Volvo fleet? That’s right, those six diesel-powered, single-door Volvo buses that were always covered in advertisements, mostly seen on AS-4 or Fort Pheri?
A little backstory here. In 2010, BEST had signed a deal with a firm named Asian Concierge, who would purchase 50 Volvo B7RLE buses and provide them to BEST in lieu of advertising rights on the body of the buses for 10 years. The first two buses were inducted November 2010, four more joined shortly after and that was that. The remaining 44 buses, which were to join BEST’s fleet by March 2011 never arrived.
The six buses were all housed at the Oshiwara Depot and mostly operated on AS-4 between Oshiwara Depot and Backbay Depot. Sometimes they operated on A-74Express from Oshiwara Depot to NSCI Worli (Nehru Planetarium/Lotus). Instead of idling at Backbay depot, they were often deployed on Fort Pheri-1 AC that ran in a circle in and around Fort.
BEST’s Volvo operating on Fort Pheri – 1 AC (Photo: Superfast1111 via Wikimedia Commons)
BEST’s fleet strength at that time was near 4,700 buses, which included the 272 (in)famous Cerita fleet. According to Sanjay Potnis, then chairman of the BEST committee, BEST did not purchase any Volvo buses as they did not have the budget for it.
Since 2017, these buses were just lying at Oshiwara Depot. A photo of them in a dilapidated condition appeared on some busfanning groups in 2021 but I was unable to secure permission to use them publicly.
All photographs and even Google Earth footage showed only four buses parked at the Oshiwara Depot. On a side note, Google Earth is now limited historical imagery of India to 2017-2018 while imagery of the years before that is available for other countries.
In March 2023 (two months ago), it emerged that at least two of the six buses had been junked. Fellow busfan Swapnil Patil posted two photographs of 2705/OSH and 2703/OSH at a scrap yard in Taloja. You can see the images below:
BEST Volvo 2703/OSH at the Taloja scrapyard (Photo: Swapnil Patil, all rights reserved, used with permission)BEST Volvo 2705/OSH at the Taloja scrapyard (Photo: Swapnil Patil, all rights reserved, used with permission)
These two photographs really break my heart. These buses were barely 13 years old and could have run for their full fifteen years. The disastrous double fare hike of 2015 made AC buses more expensive that auto-rickshaws in the city and the 2016 rollback, while successful was too little, too late. Asian Concierge seems to have gone under liquidation, and I can’t seem to find the original firm on Tofler, although there is an Asian Concierge Transport that was incorporated in 2016.
That’s all from me for now. Let’s hope common sense hits BEST soo and they increase their now drastically dwindling fleet of buses as quickly as possible.
Featured Image: BEST AS-4 at Mahim (Photo: Srikanth Ramakrishnan/BESTpedia)
In a bid to modernise and monetise its real estate, the Brihanmumbai Electricity Supply and Transport (BEST) undertaking is looking to hire the World Bank Group’s member organisation International Finance Corporation (IFC) as its advisory partner, reports the Indian Express. The upgradation will receive financing from the World Bank and was confirmed by General Manager Lokesh Chandra.
Unlike previous monetisaton plans, BEST is looking to go in for competitive bidding this time to ensure that the undertaking receives its revenues. The Kurla and Oshiwara depots and Mahim Bus Station were handed out to private parties and at least Kurla and Mahim have been redeveloped but BEST is yet to receive the ₹300 crore revenue due to the builders landing up in front of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT). In these projects, part of the land is awarded to private parties to build on. Since permissions were granted in the initial stage, development on the commercial sections were carried out first.
Currently only one depot has been completely redeveloped – the Kurla Depot, located at the junction of Lal Bahadur Shastri Marg (LBS Marg) and Santacruz-Chembur Link Road (SCLR). The depot was damaged in the floods of 2005 and was subsequently redeveloped by Kanakia as part of its project Kanakia Zillion.
Among the bus stations that were redeveloped, there is the Seven Bunglows (Saath Bangla) Bus Station on JP Road in Andheri (West) that was redeveloped in 2004-2005 as the G7 Shopping Centre. There is the long-delayed redevelopment of the Marol Maroshi Bus Station near the Seven Hills Hospital in Andheri (East) as well. I’m personally not aware of who the developers of these two are. Kanakia was awarded redevelopment of two bus stations, the Versova-Yari Road Bus Station in Andheri (West) which has been redeveloped into a residential project called Kanakia Hollywood with a bus station on the ground floor and the Mahim Bus Station in Mahim (West) which was redeveloped as part of Kanakia Miami.
Featured Image:Kurla Depot at Kanakia Zillion (Photo: Architect Rushikesh H)
In a bid to make travel by buses a little more pleasant, the Brihanmumbai Electricity Supply and Transport (BEST) undertaking has banned loud music and conversations in buses after a deluge of complaints from passengers.
A notification was issued on 24 April in the regard and under the new rules all passengers watching videos, listening to music, or having conversations on their phone must use headphones. The undertaking has also said that passengers causing inconvenience can have action taken against them under section 38/112 of the Bombay Police Act of 1951.
BEST has announced that a notification regarding this will be displayed on all buses while all staff (including those on wet-lease buses) will be made aware of it.
While the move is undoubtedly a good one, especially for those listening to music or watching videos, it makes limited sense to those having phone calls. Unless the phone is on speakerphone, using a phone regularly shouldn’t be too loud except when the passenger is shouting into the phone. At the same time, due to the preponderance of noise-cancellation headphones, people using headphones can be louder than those without them.
On the plus side, passengers can now listen to the noise made by the bus itself, for some of them (especially a lot of the electric buses) are extremely noisy.
Featured Image: BEST prohibits loud phone conversations, audio and video on mobile phones on the buses, mandates use of headphones by Srikanth Ramakrishnan. (P.S: It took me 20 minutes to make this image using Microsoft PowerPoint)
The last two months has not been good for the Brihanmumbai Electricity Supply and Transport (BEST) undertaking.
First, the undertaking junked the wet-lease agreement with one player due to the buses being in bad condition and lying unused at the depots. As per the report in the Times of India, no details of the contractor were mentioned and it was a very ambiguous article. However, thanks to a few friends in the bus fanning community, it came to light that these buses were operated by MP Enterprises and Associates (MPG) out of the Wadala Depot. In early 2020, these buses operated on routes in Wadala and Andheri (East). Around 280 buses were taken of the roads.
As if this wasn’t enough to add to the city’s woes, BEST also withdrew 400 of the CNG-powered Tata buses. I had reviewed the midi-buses operated out of the Mumbai Central depot too in 2020. These buses were operated by Mateshwari Urban Transport (MUP). The reason behind it was the buses catching fire. The first was on 23 January between Santacruz and Bandra, followed by another on 11 February at Chakala and yet another on 22 February, the last one near Agarkar Chowk.
Over the last month, BEST has ben slowly reintroducing these buses after thorough safety inspections with 10-10 buses from each of the depots – Majas, Dharavi, Santacruz and Pratiksha Nagar and it was reported on 14 March that 369 of the 400 buses were back on the roads.
In order to make up for the lack of buses, BEST pushed in a few off-links into service.
Below are some snaps of various Offlinks on different routes across the city, clicked by Sahil Pusalkar.
Below are the following: The first is bus 5410 of the Dindoshi Depot operating on route C-12. Next is 5219 of the Dindoshi Depot as well, also on C-12. Then there is 5188 of the Magathane Depot, this one too on C-12. Then there is 5278 of Dindoshi on 525 and 5225 of Dindoshi on 415.
BEST Offlink buses (Sahil Pusalkar)
The next lot is 1741 of the Mulund depot on 492, followed by 5414 of Dindoshi on 415. Then there is 566 of the Kurla depot on 308, followed by 1919 from Majas on 340. Then there is 5108 from Ghatkopar, also 340.
BEST Offlink buses (Sahil Pusalkar)
In the third lot, there is 4554 of the Central depot on C-1, followed by 1455 of the Goregaon depot on 28. There is 5531 from Wadala on 201, 1893 from Bandra 255 and 6599 from Worli on 169.
BEST Offlink buses (Sahil Pusalkar)
The next set of buses consist of 5157 of Dindoshi on 348, 6625 of Bandra on 255, 6664 of Worli on 172, 6615, also of Worli, again on 172 and 6625 of Bandra again on 348 this time.
BEST Offlink buses (Sahil Pusalkar)
The last set of buses are 5295 of Dindoshi on 348, 6552 of Central on C-14, 1927 of Dharavi, 5519 of Ghatkopar and 1512 of Kurla, all on 27.
BEST Offlink buses (Sahil Pusalkar)
That’s all for the time being, do follow Sahil on Instagram here: @sahilpusalkar.
Featured Image: Buses at Agarkar Chowk (Srikanth Ramakrishnan)
It’s official, Mumbai’s first electric double deckers are to hit the city’s streets on 21 February 2023. The Brihanmumbai Electricity Supply and Transport (BEST) undertaking put out a press note announcing the details.
BEST’s press note announcing launch of the electric double decker services
The bus will operate on route A-115 between the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) and the National Centre for Performing Arts (NCPA) from 8.45am with a frequency of 30 minutes. On weekends, the bus will operate on the heritage track from 9am onwards.
Each bus will be conductor-less and use Chalo’s Tap-In, Tap-Out system, thus requiring all users to either have a Chalo Card or the Chalo App.
After a gap of twenty years, double decker buses have returned to the roads of the southern city of Hyderabad, and this time in an electric avatar, making the City of Pearls to be the first city in India to have double-decker buses in operation. Double deckers were earlier operated by the Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (APSRTC) until services folded up in 2003. Double deckers were introduced under the Nizam State Railways – Road Transport Division (NSR-RTD) of the erstwhile Hyderabad State. With the subsequent bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh in 2014, city services in Hyderabad came under the aegis of the Hyderabad Zonal Urban Road Transport Corporation (HZURTC) that comes under and operates using its parent body, the Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (TSRTC).
Open deck and regular double deckers of the HMDA and TSRTC (Image Tweeted by Arvind Kumar)
The Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA) placed an order for six buses, of which three have been delivered with the rest to be delivered soon. The HMDA is looking to up its fleet to 20 such buses. The buses are Ashok Leyland Switch EiV 22 AC double deckers, although in the images released by the Special Chief Secretary for Urban Development Arvind Kumar, the Switch logo in the front of the bus was visibly covered up. Each bus costs ₹2.16 crore and comes with an annual maintenance contract (AMC) for 7 years. With a carrying capacity of 65 passengers plus the driver, each bus has a range of 150km and can be charged in 120 to 150 minutes.
The buses were flagged off by Minister for Municipal Administration and Urban Development KT Rama Rao along with Chief Secretary A Santhi Kumari, Chevella MP G Ranjith Reddy and Chandrayanagutta MLA Akbaruddin Owaisi.
An old Double Decker Bus in Hyderabad from the year 2000 running on Route 7Z from Zoo Park to Secunderabad via High Court. Photo shared by Shakerhussain on Twitter.
These buses will primarily run along the Hyderabad Street Circuit as part of the the Hyderabad Formula ePrix to be held on 11 February in and around the vicinity of the newly built Telangana Secretariat, Tank Bund, Necklace Street, Paradise and Nizam College. After that, they will be used for tourism along a heritage circuit in the city.
The Forumla ePrix and Hyderabad Street Circuit
The Hyderabad ePrix is part of the 2022-2023 Formula E Championship. The Formula E championship is a single-seat motorsport championship for electric cars and this will be the first edition to be held in India.
The Hyderabad Street Circuit (BBTD/Wikimedia Commons)
The Hyderabad Street Circuit is a race track laid along the roads of the city. Two designs were prepared, one by PPE Racing and the other by Driven International. The second one was chosen while the former was criticised for its rather phallic design with one racer allegedly saying it resembled a dildo.
Interestingly, in 2018, the Formula One Powerboat Championship (F1H2O) was held in the new capital of Hyderabad’s former state, Amaravati.
Telangana Mobility Valley
KT Rama Rao announced that Telangana would soon see investments of ₹3,000 crore in the mobility sector, in addition to the ₹8,000 crore already secured by the state in the segment. A new mobility cluster, named the Telangana Mobility Valley would be established for electric vehicles with a focus on manufacturing, engineering, research and development for vehicle manufacturing as well as cell chemistry, hydrogen fuel cells and component manufacturers. Currently, research and development in the EV sector is primarily based out of Bengaluru in neighbouring Karnataka while manufacturing is concentrated in the neighbouring Krishnagiri district and Chennai, both in Tamil Nadu.
Featured Image: Hyderabad’s new Switch EiV22 Double Deckers (Image tweeted by Arvind Kumar)
The Brihanmumbai Electricity Supply and Transport (BEST) Undertaking has decided to put up an exhibit at the Kala Ghoda Arts Festival. According to a note shared by the undertaking, the Kala Ghoda Festival Committee made a request to the undertaking which in turn set up the exhibit at Cross Maidan near Churchgate.
BEST’s Notice about the Kala Ghoda Exhibit
The exhibit is available for public viewing at Azad Cross Maidan near Churchgate from 4 February to 12 February 2023 from 10 am to 10 pm. It showcases the history and heritage of the undertaking.
BEST also shared some pictures of the exhibit on their Twitter and Facebook pages.
The entrance to BEST’s exhibit where a cutout of a conductor greets visitors along with a model of a double decker bus.Models of BEST’s horse-drawn tram, double decker tram and double decker bus on display.
In its notice, BEST also reminded the public about the BEST Museum that is open to all in the third floor of the administrative building at Anik Depot. The museum is open from 7 am to 3.30 pm on Monday and from 9 am to 5 pm from Tuesday to Sunday. There is no charge to visit the museum.
Featured Image: The Kala Ghoda Horse Statue (Pradeep717/Wikimedia Commons)
