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)
In what can only be described as good news for both transit fans and history buffs alike, the Maharashtra Government has agreed to save one Bharat Stage 3 (BS3) Double Decker bus of the Brihanmumbai Electricity Supply and Transport (BEST) undertaking at the Anik Depot instead of scrapping it. This decision came from no less than the Chief Minister’s office. Apart from this, Dr Shrikant Shinde, Member of Parliament from Kalyan and son of CM Eknath Shinde has also promised to take up the matter.
As reported by Rajendra Aklekar for Mid-Day, this happened purely due to the initiative of three bus fans, particularly Shubham Padave, an IT professional from Mumbai with whom I have had the pleasure of interacting over Twitter in the past. Padave wrote to the BEST administration requesting them to preserve one bus. Since he did not get a satisfactory response, he took things a notch higher and directly wrote to the CM’s office and got a positive response.
The second bus fan is none other than Rupak Dhakate, whose posts in the past have been featured on this blog. Rupak was the ace photographer who snapped the glorious click of the bus chowky at Maharana Pratap Chowk in Mazagaon, helped bust the fake news that Oshiwara Depot was shutting down, and also created the amazing BEST Quarantine Challenge during the first lockdown in 2020. In 2020, Rupak started an initiative to ensure that at least one bus of every model is preserved at BEST’s museum at Anik. He rightly says that the double-decker bus is not just a bus but an emotion, and I cannot agree more with him.
The third bus fan is our very own Gandharva Purohit, who has written some really insightful posts on BESTpedia in the past. Don’t forget to read them here, if you haven’t already. Gandharva has made a great argument in favour of preserving heritage buses at BEST’s Museum at Anik on the lines of the London Transport Museum at Covent Garden, London. He also says that BEST can organise open-day events and sell souvenirs.
As of now, BEST has 12 of the new electric Switch double deckers and three open-top variants of the old fleet housed at the Colaba depot, and the remaining 19 of the classic double deckers are house at Marol and Dharavi. The Backbay, Kurla and Worli depots stopped housing double deckers when they were scrapped in 2020.
In 2021, Aklekar had reported on Mid-Day that the Manjusha Museum in Dharmasthala, Karnataka had paid ₹12 lakh for two double decker buses – ₹5 lakh for an open-top one and ₹7 lakh for a regular double decker – to be housed at the museum that houses over 8,000 artefacts.
Overall, this is a win for the transit heritage community. I personally feel that every city in India, especially the ones that got public transport right from the independence era should make a serious effort towards preserving older vehicles in museums to showcase the evolution of public transport to future generations.
That’s all from me this time.
Featured Image: Bus 4043 of the Dharavi Depot operating on Route C-42. Photo clicked by GP.Busfanning
Note to the mainstream media and Youtubers: The photograph featured above is copyright GP.Busfanning and has been used on BESTpedia with permission. Do not flick the image without permission from GP.Busfanning.
Alright, this is yet another post not related to public transport, but I have in the past written about first responders. In fact, one of the long-pending article ideas is on what Indian Police officer’s utility belt should be.
When we Indians hear police and fancy cars, we usually think of the Dubai Police which is equipped with a wide variety of exotic and even concept cars including but not limited to Aston Martin, Bentley, Lambhorgini, Lexus, and of course the Lykan HyperSport (as destroyed by Brian and Dom in Furious 7) and W Motors’ Ghiath as well.
However, much before Dubai, the Korps landelijke politiediensten (KLPD; or National Police Services Corps) which was the former national police force in the Netherlands made use of luxury vehicles.
The story starts thus, that in the 1960s, motorways in the Netherlands saw a lot of accidents, mainly due to the absence of marked speed limits on roads. In order to combat this, the Highway Patrol division of the KLPD set out defining the requirements for a high-speed patrol vehicle. They had to be fast of course, they had to have a rear-engine, be able to accelerate and brake at the drop of a hat, and one very unique requirement was that they had to have an open top.
Attention turned towards the town of Zuffenhausen in Germany where the headquarters and factory of Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG, known to most of us as just Porsche was located. The automobile manufacturer, who was winding up production on a well known model, the Porsche 356, ended up supplying the last ten cars of the model to the KLPD where they were the mainstay between 1962 and 1966.
In 1967, Porsche unveiled the Targa top variant of its flagship vehicle, the Porsche 911, and this caught the eye of the KLPD. The 911 was a hit with the law enforcement agency and remained a mainstay of its patrol units till 1996. A total of 507 Porsche vehicles, including the 356, 911, 914, 924 and 964 made their way into the agency’s motorpools, making it the largest historic Porsche police fleet in the world.
Each car was identifiable by it distinguished livery of orange and white with a single blue emergency light perched atop its A-pillar.
Now, very interestingly, all of these cars had open tops, hence the KLPD’s interest in the 911 only after the targa top was unveiled. The rationale for this? Officers were to be able to stand up in the car in order to direct traffic.
Another interesting thing to note was that the uniforms worn by officers driving these cars always included a distinctive orange helmet with safety goggles.
The livery has been since updated and now features blue and orange stripes and the uniform has a white and orange helmet.
Featured Image: A Porsche 911 being used by the KLPD (Oranje-Boom/Porsche Newsroom)
The Amdavad Municipal Transport Service (AMTS)-run Lal Darwaja bus station, which was built in 1955 at the heart of the city was shut down in 2021 to undergo a major renovation in order to match up with its surroundings, the historic city of Old Ahmedabad which was designated a UNESCO World Heritage City in 2017.
Originally proposed in the 2000s under the Walled City Revitalisation Project by then Chief Minister Narendra Modi, the project’s plans saw multiple changes including the addition of administrative offices in the upper level before the plan was shelved. Under the Vijay Rupani government, it finally received a green signal along with a budgetary sanction of ₹5.72 crore in 2017 but was delayed due to lack of approvals from the Archeological Survey of India (ASI), whose approval was necessary due to the presence of several monuments within a 2,000 metre radius.
The foundation stone was laid on 8 April 2017 by Rupani. After numerous delays, the project got ahead in 2021 and was to be complete by 2022 but was finally inaugurated by Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel on 5 June 2023.
Lal Darwaja Bus Station (DeshGujarat/Twitter)
Spread over 11,583 square metres, the bus station is a two-storeyed structure with lighting to match the aesthetics. A proper drainage system and reinforced cement concrete (RCC) roads were also laid. The stone –Bansi Pahadpur stone – for the building have come from Bharatpur in Rajasthan which helps in lowering the temperature inside the bus terminal. Seating arrangements involve decorative bus shelters. LED display-based Passenger Information Systems (PIS) have also been installed. Facilities for administrative purposes such as a control room, a meeting hall as well as solar power have also been set up. 35 closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras for security have been installed. The revamped terminal has a capacity of 503 buses with nearly 80 routes touching it. Nearly 1.95 lakh passengers are expected to use Lal Darwaza daily.
The tiles in the bus station have been carved to resemble the Siddi Saiyyed Jali which is the unofficial symbol of the city. The pillars are round and have been designed in the style of those present at havelis while lighting is provided by lanterns and railings are leaf-patterned.
The building is six metres tall and permission from the ASI has been secured to increase the height to 12 metres if expansion is required.
You can watch a walk through of the bus terminal (in Hindi) on YouTube thanks to Youtuber DeepsBeenHere:
Featured Image: Front facade of the Lal Darwaja Bus Station tweeted by Bhupendra Patel.
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)
