In 2023, a considerable furore was created when the Brihanmumbai Electricity Supply and Transport (BEST) undertaking’s older double-decker buses were being scrapped. A glimmer of hope emerged when a group of busfans managed to write to then CM Shinde and get one of them preserved in the BEST Museum at the Anik Depot.
Subsequently, the undertakings’ parent body, the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai or Brhihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (MCGM or BMC) decided to convert them to galleries, libraries and cafes. However, not much is known about the plan or what happened thereafter.
On a recent trip to Delhi, something caught my eye. At South Extension, I saw a double-decker bus (I’m not sure if it is a real bus or just a model) with the name Food Bus of India.
Food Bus of India at South Extension, Delhi. (Pic: Srikanth Ramakrishnan/BESTpedia)
On searching, I noticed that this is a restaurant chain with multiple outlets across Delhi. Now, I have seen a similar concept in Mumbai as well, but what it were really a bus? A bus that had carried people in the past and was part and parcel of the city’s vibrant economy, culture and heritage?
Now, the idea isn’t far fetched. Indian Railways, thru its subsidiary Indian Railways Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) is doing the same across multiple railway stations in India with an old coach converted to a restaurant. Given the financial situation that BEST is in, this would make a lot of sense. Outsource the operations of a restaurant to a private agency, albeit with a stringent background check, unlike what the transport body is doing with its wet lease of buses. Let the maintenance of the buses itself remain under BEST’s purview. These dilapidated buses can be transformed into a vibrant, upscale cafe and BEST can ensure that it gets a rent or operations fee and a small percentage of the profits.
In 2020, during the pandemic, BEST’s younger sibling, the Navi Mumbai Municipal Transport (NMMT) undertaking had decided to upscale two disused buses into artistic mobile toilets. Then there was the case of the infamous “bus mall“ spotted on a bus owned by the Vasai-Virar Municipal Transport (VVMT) undertaking. BEST can easily transform its old buses and make something meaningful of them. Further, they need not pay for additional land by placing them on the premises of existing bus stations.
My belief in this idea stems from an episode of Popeye that I saw as as child. In it, after a fight with Bluto or Brutus, Popeye turns an old plane into an eating joint with stools next to the wings turning the wing into the table. As always, Wimpy comes and orders a hamburger, promising to pay him back the next Tuesday. I have been looking for this image online and even tried to get AI to generate the image, but forgive me, I am unable to get that.
Let us hope that the buses have not been scrapped in entirety and something can be done about them.
If you have any interesting suggestions, do drop a line in the comments section below. If you like this idea, do share this post with Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and let him know!
Featured Image: A double-decker bus used as a restaurant (Concept Art/LeonardoAI)
We’ve always associated buses of the Brihanmumbai Electricity Supply and Transport (BEST) undertaking with red but did you know that there was a point when that was not the case? Over the years, we’ve seen some exceptions to the rule, such as the vestibule fleet that was yellow in colour, much like the current Tejaswini fleet for women. Similarly, the JCBL Cerita (erroneously referred to as Kinglong) was purple in colour (hence I referred to them as Purple Faeries) and the Tata Starbus Hybrid fleet was silver in colour. Of the six Volvo buses in its fleet, a few were orange while the rest were red, although only the front of the bus reflected this, given that advertising covered the sides as part of the acquisition deal. However, barring these, the fleet has pretty much been red. The same applied to trams too. However, there was one period when the buses were painted a different colour.
India was an active participant in both World War I and World War II as a part of the British Empire. As a result, Indian cities, especially the larger ones were at high risk of being attacked by the enemies. While electricity was yet to reach all parts of the city, public areas were often illuminated and buses and trams, being a bright-red colour were at constant risk of being targeted.
BEST’s buses in the military green livery from 1941 to 1945. Image courtesy BEST
Thanks to Shubham Padave, Yatin Pimpale for the information. Thanks to BEST for the image.
Featured Image: An AI-generated rendition of a BEST bus in military olive green; generated using Dall-E 3 on Bing.
In a move aimed to give commuters slight relief, buses of the Brihanmumbai Electricity Supply and Transport (BEST) undertaking can now be tracked live on Google Maps. The service was launched by Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis.
BEST will be using the General Transit Feed Specification (GTFS) format developed by Google, which is an open-source format used for pulic transport schedules. Data will be available in Marathi, Hindi and English. BEST has been working with Google for the last two months and the mechanism is also integrated with timings of both Indian Railways and Mumbai Metro.
Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis with the Google team and DyCM Eknath Shinde (Pic tweeted by BEST on Twitter)
While this is overall a good move, there is a slight downside to it. Given the present circumstances and what happened over the last few years, it is imperative that local platforms are developed as alternatives to Google.
Readers may remember that under the Joe Biden administration, the United States of American imposed sanctions on Russia, leading to huge queues on the Moscow Metro when Google Pay and Apple Pay refused to work. Of course, Russia quickly developed its own ‘Faster Payments System’, based on the National Payment Card, but the damage was done. While India has ensured that payments won’t fail with the domestically developed RuPay-based NCMC, data sovereignty remains a critical factor, especially when it comes to maps and navigation. Do remember, in 1999, during the Kargil War, the United States under Bill Clinton refused to allow us to use GPS. Eventually, India developed its own range of navigation systems, from ISRO’s Bhuvan, to the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS), also known as NavIC. We have domestic map suppliers such as MapMyIndia’s Mappls and Ola’s Krutim-powered maps.
It’s official. The Brihanmumbai Electricity Supply and Transport (BEST) undertaking is finally revising its fare after slightly over five years. And while most media publications are describing it as a ‘sharp’ or ‘significant hike’ it is isn’t all too bad. The new fare structure has got approval from the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM) and is currently awaiting approval from the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Transport Authority (MMRTA). Officials say that the fare hike was unavoidable as the incumbent fare structure was too low and the undertaking was bleeding revenue. Prior to the fare reduction, the minimum fare in BEST’s non-AC buses was ₹8.
As per reports, the minimum fare would be doubled, essentially reaching the next fare stage of ₹10 for non-AC and ₹12 for AC buses.
The new fare structure is given below
Fare Stage
Non AC Fare
AC Fare
0-5km
₹10
₹12
5-10km
₹15
₹20
10-15km
₹20
₹30
15-20km
₹30
₹35
20-25km
₹35
₹40
The rates for weekly and monthly passes have also been raised. There will also be additional surcharges for leaving the limits of the municipal corporation and crossing toll plazas.
Featured Image: Conductor selling tickets with a Ticket Machine (Image animated using ChatGPT/OpenAI)
In what can only be termed as good news, Mahaarashtra Chief Minister, Devendra Fadnavis has given a nod for the Brihanmumbai Electricity Supply and Transport Undertaking (BEST) to redevelop three bus depots – Bandra, Deonar and Dindoshi – as part of a plan for the undertaking to generate additional revenue.
BEST has in the past redeveloped its existing land assets as part of plans to monetise them. Starting over 20 years ago, the Seven Bungalows (Saat Bangla) bus station was redeveloped as the ill-fated G7 shopping complex. A similar project began at the Marol Maroshi bus station. The once-dreaded Kurla depot which had been damaged in the 2005 floods was eventually redeveloped by Kanakia as Kanakia Zillion along with the Mahim and Versova-Yari Road (Vesave-Yari Road) bus stations as Kanakia Miami and Kanakia Hollywood respectively.
BEST officials also urged Fadnavis for a fare hike, but the Chief Minister asked them to put forth a formal proposal first.
The Bandra depot –which once also was home to a slaughterhouse in the vicinity – has had large amounts of land encroached upon. The Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM) – BEST’s parent body – is simultaneously building an access road behind the depot to connect it to the Western Express Highway.
BEST’s redevelopment plans, however, have not been without controversy. At the site of the Mahim bus station, 1,000sqft of land was leased out to Fortpoint Automotive in 1993 and subsequently extended till 2018. In 2007, Parsvnath Developers was given the tender to remodel and redevelop the 2 acre plot at a cost of ₹22 crore. In 2010, Kanakia took over the project. In 2015, BEST terminated its lease with Fortpoint, which then went to court before getting a favourable ruling in 2017. Later that year, the MCGM asked for BEST to surrender the land that had earlier been leased out to Fortpoint as setback land – a prerequisite for granting of completion and occupation certificates for the tower coming up atop the bus station. At the site of the Marol Maroshi bus station, BEST had given the tender to KSL and Industries in 2008, who in turn subcontracted it to Dhruvi Properties, allegedly circumventing procedure. The matter came to light when property buyers approached the Maharashtra Real Estate Regulatory Authority (MahaRERA). Interestingly, one name that popped up was that of BEST’s former General Manager, Uttam Khobragade. To read more about his contributions to BEST, do read: The ‘BEST’ scamster Indians should know about – Congress and the Khobragades have a lot to explain.
Fadnavis urged officials to find feasible ways to increase the fleet strength of the undertaking, which has been dwindling over the last few years. It currently operates a mere 2,783 buses including both buses owned by the undertaking and on wet lease, down from 3,228 in 2023 and 4,608 in 2011. He advised officials to look for funds under the Centre’s National Clean Air Policy (NCAP). He also urged the MCGM to allocate at least 3% of its budget to BEST. He also said that BEST would soon sign an MoU with Google to give commuters real time updates for buses.
Transit fans and Infra fans can rejoice now as the Brihanmumbai Electricity Supply and Transport (BEST) undetaking’s Chalo Bus premium service will now ply across the Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Trans-Harbour Link or Atal Setu, India’s longest bridge connecting Sewree (Shivdi) to Nhava Sheva across the mainland. This will mark BEST’s foray into connecting the Ulwe side of Navi Mumbai, which it has hitherto not touched.
Route number S-145 will connect Konkan Bhavan on the Sion-Panvel Highway at CBD Belapur to World Trade Centre near Backbay Depot. The bus will run via Sagar Sangam (near the NMMC Head Office, also known as White House by some locals at Killa/Kille Gaon), Targhar, Ulwe, Aai Tarumata, Kamadhenu Oaklands, then take the Atal Setu and Eastern Freeway before touching Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT), Churchgate Station (Ahilyabai Holkar Chowk) and then terminate at World Trade Centre at Cuffe Parade. At this point I don’t know if the bus will have a stop at Mantralaya, which falls between the last two stops.
Four buses will be operated on this route, of which two will travel in the CBD Belapur to World Trade Centre direction in the morning and two in the reverse direction in the evening.
You can book your seats with the Chalo app on Android and iOS.
Apart from this, a report in Mid-Day by Rajendra Aklekar also states that BEST plans to run regular services in the Ulwe belt.
Chalo conducted a trial run with bus enthusiasts including Shubham Padave and Gandharva Purohit.
Featured Image: Chalo Bus on Atal Setu by Shubham Padve (used with permission)
Bringing cheer to commuters in Andheri (East), the Brihanmumbai Electricity Supply and Transport (BEST) undertaking launched its second electric double decker route in the suburbs on A-415 connecting Agarkar Chowk (Andheri Railway Station East) to SEEPZ.
This densely populated route was earlier served by double decker 415 prior to the old fleet being scrapped. For a long time, the only AC bus between Agarkar Chowk and SEEPZ was BEST’s AS-422 that went up to Mulund Check Naka. In late 2016, when BEST was experimenting with its fares, it launched AS-415 (using the Cerita fleet) that mirror the regular 415 and was a sleeper hit. Subsequently, BEST ran its Tata Starbus Hybrid fleet as BKC-16 on this route.
This was one of the most important corridors for double deckers, hence they remained mostly with Majas Depot, except towards the end when they were transferred to the Marol Depot. The new electric buses operate out of the Kurla Depot as charging infrastructure isn’t in place at Marol or Majas yet. Double Deckers in the suburbs currently operate out of either Kurla, Dharavi or Kalakilla Depots.
Futher, the Metro line (Mumbai Metro 1/Blue Line/Reliance Metro) was also built keeping in mind the height requirement for double decker buses underneath it. Judging by the success, I’m guessing BEST did not run into (quite literally) any of the height issues that A-310 is currently facing at the Nehru Nagar junction atop the Santacruz Chembur Link Road.
BEST’s third AC double decker in the suburbs meanwhile runs on route A-332. This route connects Agarkar Chowk to Kurla Depot and travels via Andheri-Ghatkopar Link Road till Saki Naka where it takes a turn onto Andheri-Kurla Road via Jari Mari. This journey should be interesting since amid the top-angled view of all the slums en route, once would also get to witness magnificent landings and take-offs at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport. However, the bus did run into the same height issue as A310 due to which it has been truncated at Kurla Depot instead of Kurla Railway Station (West).
A-415 meanwhile has run into its own set of controversy, over standees on the bus. Reportedly, as per the rules laid out by the Regional Transport Office (RTO), standees are not allowed on the upper deck of a double decker. While I personally do remember seeing standees on the upper deck of a bus, that was nearly two decades ago when 266 from Andheri Station (West) to Swami Samarth Nagar (Extension) had double deckers. A notice near the rear of the bus, printed on paper has been posted, prohibiting standees on both decks with conductors refusing to board more passengers if all seats are occupied. This has understandably irked people, with some asking if the new buses were delicate.
Let’s hope BEST is able to sort out its issues quickly and bring back normalcy on the city’s roads.
Featured Image: Two A-415s crossing each other at Chakala Signal (Western Express Highway Metro Station on Blue Line 1 and Gundavali on Red Line 7). Picture via Sahil Pednekar on Twitter.
Giving commuters in the suburbs a reason to cheer, the Brihanmumbai Electricity Supply and Transport (BEST) undertaking finally launched its much anticipated electric Double Decker fleet of Switch EiV 22 buses on route 310 (A-310) between Bandra Railway Station (East) and Kurla Railway Station (West) via the Bandra Kurla Complex. This sector was earlier services by the regular double-deckers on Route 310.
However, a slight snag affected the services resulting in several changes. The height of the old buses stood at 4.38m while the height of the new bus stands at 4.75m. This is problematic since all buses bound for Kurla Railway Station (West) have to take a U-turn under the Santacruz-Chembur Link Road’s double-decker flyover to reach the station.
BEST has decided to truncate the double deckers’ route at the MTNL Telephone Exchange while regular single-decker buses will continue on till Kurla. This height issue is expected to affect other routes as well, such as 313 between Santacruz Bus Station and Kurla Railway Station (West) and 332 between Agarkar Chowk (Andheri Station East) and Kurla Railway Station (West).
Interestingly, Mumbai’s suburban railway network hit a similar snag in 2016. When the Integral Coach Factory (ICF), Chennai sent the first AC train prototype, it was found to be 4.335m tall as opposed to the maximum permissible height of 4.25m due to several low-lying older bridges on the Central Railway line.
What will BEST do to solve this issue? That remains to be seen.
Update: It seems BEST has asked for a traffic signal to be installed at the junction of SCLR and SG Barve Marg so buses can directly take a right turn towards Kurla Station. This could potentially be problematic as the entire stretch of the road from the Eastern Express Highway to the Western Express Highway is being made signal-free. A signal earlier existed here when SCLR first opened up in 2014. It was a bottleneck as the junction also housed a water tank and pump-house on the median. This was later relocated in 2015 and the junction shut.
Prior to the construction of the SCLR towards the East of this junction, the original SG Barve Marg traveled from Kurla Depot signal on LBS Marg and turned towards Kurla Station. A flyover was built over LBS Marg between 2007 and 2012 and the road was re-aligned towards Kurla East, thus turning SG Barve Marg into a branch road.
In case you are wondering how buses access Kurla Railway Station (West) from Kurla West, here is a video by Gandharva Purohit that shows exactly how it works.
Featured Image: BEST Double Decker taking a U-turn under SCLR towards Kurla (Dharam Tiwari, via Twitter)
Serving Mumbai for 86 years, the conventional Double Decker buses will be replaced with Electric AC Double Decker buses. Bus enthusiasts hired a Double Decker and took it on a special trip exploring Mumbai.
Double Decker buses have always been close to the heart of all of us. The diesel-powered Double Decker buses operated by the Brihanmumbai Electricity Supply and Transport (BEST) Undertaking in Mumbai would go off the roads after completing their shelf life of 15 years, in the next two months. Built by Antony Coach Builders in 2008, there were 50 such Bharat Stage 3 (BS-3) double decker buses manufactured. As of early August 2023, only 10 such Double Decker buses are left in service with BEST. To bid farewell to the beloved double decker, busfans from Mumbai came together, hired a bus from Dharavi Depot, and planned a special run covering the popular sightseeing locations of Mumbai. You can watch a video about this day (in Marathi) as well.
The planning began with limited people, ensuring everything was done in a well-disciplined manner. Responsibility for route planning, bus booking, ordering a special cake, snacks to be carried along and decorations for the bus was evenly split among the core members and 8 July 2023 was the finalised date for this special run. The core members reached Dharavi Depot well in advance but had to wait for two hours since the bus was plying on route in the morning and had not returned yet. The double decker finally arrived at around noon and was immediately sent for washing. We finally got to see our 4037/DH, the last remaining double decker of the Dharavi Depot with traditional roller blinds at quarter past noon. With limited time in hand, the decorations were to be done in merely 10-15 minutes to avoid further delay. Meanwhile, other group members were waiting for over an hour with a special cake ready with them. The cake featuring 4037/DH was cut by the depot staff and after completing the rituals, we commenced our journey to explore the heart of Mumbai.
Special Cake with the picture of 4037/DH on it that was cut by BEST Staff. (Photo: Gandharva Purohit)
Our first stage was crossing the Bandra Worli Sea Link. Opened for traffic in June 2009, only open-deck double-decker buses (of BEST plying on Heritage special runs) have crossed the bridge so far. We happened to be the first to travel onboard a double decker bus on the Sea Link. In Worli, we took our first halt at Nehru Planetarium and spent nearly 30 to 45 minutes for a good photoshoot. Our fellow member Azharuddin Kazi felicitated the working crew with a shawl and a coconut. A group picture with the special banner was clicked with our double decker bus. We also got a chance to look in the driver cabin and each member patiently waited for their turn. After having our refreshments, the journey resumed towards Haji Ali and then to Tardeo Bus Station. At Tardeo, our gigantic double decker bus was parked right beside Deonar Depot’s BS6 AC midi bus waiting to start back on route A92 to Anushakti Nagar. During this halt, we got to explore the destination boards. 4037/DH being the last double decker bus with old-school roller blinds, it was a “now or never” opportunity. After exploring the destinations, we once again set the Scroll to SPECIAL: RESERVED and proceeded ahead.
Decorated Double Decker Bus at Nehru Planetarium (Photo: Gandharva Purohit)
The bus then passed through Nana Chowk (Grant Road) towards Girgaon Chowpatty. Due to time constraints, we did not take a halt at the beach and continued south on the Queen’s Necklace (Marine Drive). The Meteorological Department had issued a yellow alert for the weekend but we didn’t face any issues as the rains took a break. It was cloudy on one side and sunny on the other. Our bus passed during high tide when the sea waves were directly hitting Marine Drive, beyond the Tetrapods. After a left from Air India Building, we continued our journey towards the Gateway of India via Mantralaya and Dr Shyamaprasad Mukherjee Chowk (Museum). At Gateway, a rare coincidence was about to happen for which, four busfans among us were ready with their cameras. The electric double decker bus of the Colaba Depot on the Heritage sightseeing route was halted outside Gateway as we made our way through the traffic. Four busfans alighted and sprinted ahead to take the money shot. An aligned halt for merely five seconds turned their efforts fruitful. We got both the diesel and electric double decker sharing a frame for one last time.
BEST’s BS-3 Ashok Leyland Diesel Double Decker and Switch EiV22 Electric Double Decker next to each other. (Photo: Aditya Kelkar)
After returning to Colaba Causeway via Taj Hotel, we commenced our return journey. From Museum, we continued towards Old Customs House and took Mint Road to GPO. Since BEST did not allow us to take the Eastern Freeway and JJ Flyover, we continued through the slow-moving traffic of Mohammed Ali Road. After a gap of two years, a double decker bus passed through here. As the restrictions post-lockdown were getting eased back in July 2020, a majority of passengers were dependent on bus travel. The double decker buses did help in increasing the passenger carrying capacity for BEST. Special Services were operated using double decker buses from Backbay and Colaba to Khodadad Circle (Dadar TT). However, a decrease in the overall bus fleet resulted in the discontinuation of these special services.
We took the flyover from Parel, thereby escaping the traffic congestion of Madkebuwa Chowk, Hindmata Cinema and Dadar TT. From Matunga, we switched back to the slow lane. The height barrier located below the King’s Circle railway station is quite infamous for numerous heavy vehicle accidents. Back in 2020, I had a doubt in mind whether the double decker services running between Colaba and Dadar post lockdown were not extended up to Sion due to this. But my doubts were cleared, once we passed under the height barrier, safe and sound.
After a ride through Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Road, we arrived at Rani Laxmibai Chowk for another halt. Our arrival grabbed everyone’s attention as it was again the gap of two years since a double decker bus arrived inside Sion bus station. In August 2020, two double decker buses from Dharavi Depot were deployed on route C42Express between Sion and Mulund. Maintaining a frequency of 30 minutes, double decker buses helped clear the excessive rush on the Eastern Express Highway through C42Express and Western Express Highway through route 440 from Wadala to Borivali.
After a brief halt at Sion, we proceeded towards the final leg of our journey back to Dharavi Depot. Everyone among us felt “This journey should go on as long as possible” but “all good things must come to an end”. Since nothing lasts forever, this journey too was supposed to end at some point in time. Those 10 minutes from Sion to Dharavi felt as if the time slowed down for a moment. The unforgettable memories with the double decker bus flashed in front of us while the bus was nearing its home. It was painful to leave but we all summoned the courage to bid adieu to our Non-AC Double Decker Bus and call it a day.
Special Thanks to Sahil Pusalkar, Rupak Dhakate, Azharuddin Kazi and Sumedh Tambe for planning this special event.
Featured Image: A group picture with the Double Decker at Sion Bus Station (Photo: Prathamesh Prabhu)
The Brihanmumbai Electricity Supply and Transport (BEST) undertaking is organising a grand exhibition of its antique and operation-development systems at its Museum. The exhibition will be held from Saturday 5 August to Monday 7 August 2023 at the BEST Undertaking’s Museum located on the third floor of the administrative block at the Anik Depot.
Entry will be free to all and special buses will be pressed into service from Rani Lakshmi Chowk (Sion) Bus Station and Kurla (East) Bus Station to Anik Depot.
The exhibition will be held to commerate the 76th anniversary of the merger of BEST under the Birhanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC/MCGM) with the Bandra Bus Company, then under the Bandra Municipal Committee in 1949.
BEST’s notice on the Grand Exhibition
Special thanks to Shubham Padave for sharing this. That’s all from me for this time. Do take some time out over the weekend and checkout a part of Mumbai’s heritage.
Featured Image: BEST Museum’s entrance board (Ketaki Rangnekar/Google Maps)
