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)
Double Decker buses have been the pride of Mumbai for decades. Talks for procuring new Double Deckers (DDs) began in late 2020 when a tender for 50 Bharat Stage 6 (BS6) Non-AC DDs was floated by the Brihanmumbai Electric Supply & Transport (BEST) Undertaking. Unable to serve justice to BEST’s vision for electrification of the bus fleet, this tender was scrapped and a fresh tender for 200 electric AC DDs was floated.
On 18 August 2022, Ashok Leyland unveiled the SWITCH EiV22 – India’s first electric double decker. The launch event took place in presence of Shri Nitin Gadkari at the Yashwantrao Chavan Centre, Mumbai. After conducting trials with the prototype, it took five months and 22 days for the Switch EiV22 to finally enter service with BEST on route 115 (earlier known as Special 1) from Mumbai Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) to the National Centre for the Performing Arts (NCPA), Nariman Point. After travelling on the first day – first run and on the Heritage Route, this is my review of the newly launched double decker bus. For the Marathi-speaking audience, I have covered the same in a YouTube video. You can view the video at the end of this article.
Overview of the specifications
Driver’s dashboard of the Switch EiV 22 (Photo: Gandharva Purohit for BESTpedia)
First things first – the bus can seat 65 passengers in a 2×2 configuration. This seating capacity is equivalent to a Tata Starbus Urban EV and Olectra K7D put together. Two doors are present to provide a smooth movement of passengers. The seats built by TM Automotive – a joint venture of Tata Autocomp with Magna International, are green in colour which recalls the colour scheme of those old bench-type seats of BEST Buses. A stairway at the rear door and another behind the driver cabin is intended to eliminate the use of common entry and exit. There are three seats in the front, offering a clear view. The buses are locked at a top speed of 50km/hr and are fitted with protective rods at the front to avoid direct contact with the trees en route. These modern double decker buses are expected to be housed at Colaba, Kurla, Dharavi and Majas depots (subject to change during procurement) to operate on routes where BEST utilized their bygone BS2 double deckers.
Pricing and Frequency
As of now, there are just two double decker buses in service which limits the frequency to 30 minutes on A115, 45 to 55 minutes on A138, and 1 hour on the Heritage Route. The ticket price for A115 and A138 is kept as same as the basic fare of an AC Bus – starting at ₹6 only. When new, the first electric double decker was housed at the Anik Depot for charging and overnight maintenance.
The electric DDs are supposed to ply on A115 and A138 on weekdays (Monday to Friday) and on Weekends they ply on the Heritage Route from Museum (Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya). The Heritage Route is a round trip on a Hop-On Hop-Off (HoHo) basis that covers the Gateway of India and Marine Drive till Girgaon Chowpatty and back to Dr SP Mukherjee Chowk (Museum). A ticket costs ₹150 for the upper deck and ₹75 for Lower Deck.
From 1 March 2023 onwards, a few more services were added on A115 and the Heritage Tour since the charging infrastructure was ready at Colaba Depot, thereby saving time and range which the bus would otherwise spend between Fort and Anik Depot. All 200 double decker buses were expected to join the fleet by Monsoon, but the delivery is taking longer than expected.
Inaugural Experience
Switch EiV 22 along with a Tata Starbus EV (Photo: Gandharva Purohit for BESTpedia)
On the morning of 21 February 2023, I reached Mumbai CSMT at 8:20 am, ready to be among the passengers who would be lucky to travel in the brand-new double decker Bus on its inaugural run. The bus was parked right in the middle of the busy bus station and was scheduled to depart towards NCPA at 8:45 am. It was an absolute mess, being a weekday where buses on 111, A115, and A138 were flooded with passengers making their way to the offices. I entered the bus, tapped in and rushed to the upper deck to grab a foremost seat. Sweets were distributed on the occasion and our bus started for NCPA in the next few minutes. The ride was just 10 to 15 minutes long with journalists from three media agencies reporting onboard. I took the same bus for my return journey back to Mumbai CSMT and waited for the next trip, to get a good click of the exteriors of the bus.
Heritage Experience
As of now, the Heritage Route is the only ideal journey to explore the electric double decker to its full potential. Since you spend an hour onboard the bus, the pros and cons come to your notice – more on that later. The Heritage journey commences from Dr Shyamaprasad Mukherjee Chowk (Museum) and passes through the Gateway of India followed by Mantralaya, NCPA and a run through Marine Drive up to Chowpatty, returning via Churchgate, encircling Oval Maidan, passing in front of the UNESCO World Heritage building of Mumbai Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus, a slight left at Hutatma Chowk towards Jehangir Art Gallery and terminating back at Museum.
This plan was executed with a group of infrastructure enthusiasts and busfans. Our driver comfortably handled the bus through the roads and took brief halts at Gateway of India, Nariman Point and Girgaon Chowpatty. The conductor made sure no one is left behind before signalling the driver to proceed. We were lucky to have the driver of the first electric double decker bus – Shri Yuvraj Khandge onboard along with us. A video byte of the crew was taken by Saurabh Raut right after the completion of our journey.
Cons: A lot of them….
On the Heritage Route, a passenger tends to notice the minute details like seat comfort, gangway width and height while alighting and boarding at various points. To begin with, all the seats are sloping downwards and there are just three seats provided at the front instead of four, on the upper deck. The design of this particular double decker is inspired by the electric double decker buses running in London. Thus, one can see centralized air conditioning onboard, instead of adjustable AC vents on each seat, which are essential for hot and humid climatic conditions. Lower deck seats present near the front staircase are creating issues for passenger movement, while the bellpull near the front exit is making passengers vulnerable to hurting their heads if in case there is sudden braking. Kailash Korde has highlighted this issue in both buses on his twitter thread. Issues are not limited to the passenger side since the wrongly placed rear view mirror is creating problems for the drivers to focus on the road while driving. A wrongly placed CCTV camera near the rear door creates a problem due to the partition present on the lower deck.
Another con of the bus is its ground clearance. Within its first week of service, the rear panel of this bus scraped the ground while crossing a ramp built near Vidhan Bhavan Metro Station.
Conclusion
The older , open-air double-deckers operated by BEST (Photo: Gandharva Purohit for BESTpedia)
The market for electric double decker buses in India is limited with Switch Mobility being the sole active player, which makes it too early to judge. In case Olectra introduces the K10 Double Decker, there is a scope for competition against the 150 km range offered by the Switch EiV22. Since the double decker buses in Mumbai are the first of their kind, Switch Mobility has a lot to improve for years to come. Delay in the delivery of buses is an issue faced by nearly all electric automobile manufacturers in India, due to an ever-rising demand for the same.
Ashok Leyland has been a leading player in heavy vehicles and the hopes are high for Switch Mobility to excel in this electric vehicle boom. Recently, BEST has floated tenders for 700 electric double decker AC buses and 50 electric open deck buses –where the lower deck will be Air-Conditioned – for which the bidding process is underway. Once all these buses are procured, the total fleet of double decker buses in Mumbai will increase to 950 buses (including the 50 open deck buses). The existing Bharat Stage 3 (BS III) double deckers are limited to 48 and all of them will be scrapped within a year. The fate of 2,100 Olectra K9D depends on the final verdict by the Supreme Court of India as this case is crucial for the future of BEST. As of today, the Undertaking continues to scrap its BS III Tata CNG Buses with every passing month. The second half of 2023 will be among the toughest phase with the current fleet management. Procurement of new buses is a need of the hour for BEST.
For the Marathi-speaking audience:
Featured Image: Switch EiV 22 (Photo: Gandharva Purohit for BESTpedia)
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.
The Brihanmumbai Electricity Supply and Transport (BEST) undertaking’s long-awaited app-based premium bus service finally hit the roads on 12 December 2022. The bus was launched at the launch event of Switch EiV22 (India’s First Electric Double Decker) at Y.B. Chavan Centre, Nariman Point. After a long gap of 12 years, BEST has finally received a new batch of Ashok Leyland buses, in the form of the EiV12. The first four of 200 buses (ordered) were deployed between Lodha Splendora, Bhayanderpada to Maker Maxity, Jio World Drive in Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC). This service is managed by Chalo Mobility in association with BEST. I turned out fortunate to explore this service on Day One and present an in-depth review.
You can watch a video on this on my Youtube channel below:
Route
To begin with, this route was originally diverted via Neelkanth Greens, Vasant Vihar, Devdaya Nagar and J K Gram before entering the Eastern Express Highway. After Mithagar, Mulund (East), its next stop was directly at Equinox Business Park on LBS Marg and the route went via the Santacruz – Chembur Link Road (yes, the ride was a nightmare). The bus used to give a tour of BKC which was way too time-consuming. But it was all fixed in the same week by omitting the Thane detour and taking the bus directly through the Majiwada Flyover to Eastern Express Highway. The later part was modified by taking the BKC Connector, instead of SCLR.
Chalo Bus (Photo: GP Busfanning)
Pricing
This is not a regular bus. To understand the passenger market it serves, one needs to analyse the premium service segment served by players like MYLO, CityFlo, Kommute, etc. The intention of running it fully reserved is to ditch standing in crowded buses and thus the premium fares. The end-to-end ticket of S101 was ₹205 on the Thane – BKC route and that of S102 was ₹50 on the Bandra – BKC route. Later, there were some changes in the fare chart, so please do refer to the Chalo App for the same. Apart from one-way tickets, various bus pass plans were announced by BEST along with the first ride for free (which I utilised on my way home from BKC). There is also a trial pass to claim five long distance trips at the cost of ₹20 per trip. Your unused rides get added up on the next pass, giving an absolute value for money.
Fares on the Chalo Bus
Facilities
To serve the purpose of premium fares, these buses come with the capacity to carry 42 passengers in a 2×2 configuration. All the seats can recline up to 45° and come with a USB power outlet. The armrests are adjustable. Once a ticket is booked, a Booking ID is generated, and the live location of the bus is regularly updated. A seat can be reserved even if the bus is five minutes away and gets authenticated through the bus driver feeding it in the system.
Interiors of the Chalo Bus (Photo: GP Busfanning)
Experience
My first ride in S101 was more or less an adventure. Several passengers boarded the bus with the first ride being offered to them, for free. A staff member from Chalo was onboard, guiding both the driver about roads and passengers about the App. It took an hour for the bus to finish its BKC Tour where in LBS Marg and SCLR were waiting to welcome us with traffic congestion. After skipping the Ghatkopar flyover, our bus ran into issues as the steering felt heavy and all of a sudden, the AC stopped functioning. The driver pulled over to check the issue while passengers onboard had already begun taunting about the capacity of Electric Buses. To our luck, the issue was resolved within 10mins, and we were back on our way to Thane.
Looking at Traffic from the driver’s seat (GP Busfanning)
Conclusion
The service has great potential to expand. In a way, it can also bring the bygone AC Super Routes of BEST by covering long distances. After a hectic day, one can relax on the way home since the bus has ambient lighting that can be dimmed in the evening. More routes are considered for operating the Chalo Bus, like Thane – Powai, BKC – Kharghar and Chembur – Cuffe Parade. Some of these might be operational soon as new buses arrive in January 2023.
S101 from Thane to BKC (GP Busfanning)
It’s great to see BEST fighting back with the competitors in the premium segment but the fleet expansion for its routes is still a burning topic. The upcoming year will test BEST in its struggle for existence. More than 2,500 Buses are not delivered on one hand, while the Leyland Lynx Midi and TATA CNGs are soon going to end their shelf-life. Another route rationalization (like 1 September 2021) will be a pain for passengers.
Ashok Leyland’s Old CNG Bus vs Ashok Leyland’s Switch Electric Bus
Adding another feather in its cap, the Brihanmumbai Electricity Supply and Transport (BEST) undertaking will soon start premium air-conditioned buses in the city.
These new buses will be single-door electric buses manufactured by Ashok Leyland’s subsidiary Switch Mobility. Branded as Chalo Bus, they will be dark blue in colour with an orange livery. The bus will not feature any standees and commuters will have to book tickets upfront via the Chalo app. Buses will feature USB ports for charging devices, live tracking and will only stop if a reservation from the stop exists. Commuters will have subscription plans available as well as flexibility in scheduling and canceling.
As part of the first phase, four buses will hit the streets on 12 December 2022 with two routes that will run from Monday to Saturday.
Express Route: This route will run from Thane to Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC) every 30 mins between 7am and 8.30am and in the reverse direction between 5.30pm and 7pm.
All-Day Route: This route will run from Bandra Station to BKC 8.50am and 5.50pm and in the reverse direction from 9.25pm to 6.25pm.
This makes BEST the first city in India to have a premium bus service that is entirely electric.
Fare for the new Chalo Bus
BEST has announced plans to launch 200 more such buses.
As of now, it is unknown which depot these buses will be housed at and whether they will be operated by Switch’s mobility-as-a-service (MaaS) subsidiary OHM Global Mobility.
I am personally disappointed by BEST’s decision to not stick to its ubiquitous red colour. The colour scheme is eerily reminiscent of BEST’s Purple Faeries. Another factor that makes me sceptical is the timings of the bus. By not operating on Sundays and restricting operations between 8am and 6pm, BEST is focusing only on one section of the userbase. If BEST is really looking at taking on cabs and auto-rickshaws, it needs to operate for longer periods and also operate on Sundays, predominantly to attract the touristy crowd.
Interestingly, a decade ago, the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) experimented with its now defunct Shivneri Corporate service. It used its existing Shivneri fleet of Volvo B7Rs as a point-to-point service from Kandivali to BKC.
Your commute could soon become better (or even BEST, pun intended) as the Brihanmumbai Electricity Supply and Transport (BEST) undertaking has begun the process of calling for tenders for agencies to supply electric cabs with drivers (also known as a wet lease) for last-mile connectivity in Mumbai. According to an article written for the Times of India by Somit Sen, the agency will provide cabs on an ‘aggregator basis’ on a revenue-sharing model with the agency providing the vehicles and staff and thus keep BEST’s capital expenditure at zero. The article also mentions that the agency will provide fuel, which is kind of odd given that these are electric vehicles. The cabs will be electrified.
Users who want to book then can book them using BEST’s Chalo App, and fares will be on par with other aggregators including Ola and Uber. A user can plan a -multi-modal journey using both cabs and buses.
Although unrelated, BEST also recently procured 16 electric Tata cars for its staff to use.
An important question arises: If the private partner is providing the fuel, to be read as paying for electricity, then what about the charging? Will the undertaking open up its charging infrastructure at various depots and bus stations for these vehicles?
An interesting point to note: Fellow transit-enthusiast Kundan Srivastav had explained (in detail) a similar concept where public transport agencies such as BEST could tie-up with private partners to operate taxis under a common brand name way back in 2020 during the early stages of the lockdown. I hope he may write an article on it some day. Please do follow Kundan on Twitter, @kun_srivastav.
An even more interesting thing to note. A year ago, in August 2021, a badly photoshopped picture of a red Volkswagen Polo with BEST’s logo on it made the rounds on social media, purporting to be BEST’s new electric taxi service. BEST clarified it to be fake news. You can read more about it here: Fake News Alert: BEST Is Not Launching Electric Taxis.
In what can only be deemed a major embarrassment for the Metropolitan Transport Corporation (MTC) of Chennai, crewmembers belonging to the Chromepet Depot (CR/CW) were found to have disconnected the vehicle tracking devices and skipping interior regions in mini-bus routes. These buses, operating as “Small Bus” are generally operated as feeder services from metro, railway and bus stations to interior regions where the patronage is low.
According to a report in the Times of India, the issue came to light when residents of Chitlapakkam were unable to track the bus S100 that runs from Tambaaram to Chennai International Airport Metro Station. In May 2022, transport minister SS Sivashankar had launched the Chennai Busapp, developed in partnership with Chalo. MTC staff were reported to have disconnected the tracking devices in their bus and then skipped some regions altogether, thus leading to long waiting times. Officials of both the MTC and the Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL) warned the staff and even deputed officials on the buses to ensure that they did not skip any stops or routes.
This brings about an important question. What are we to do when services are being sabotaged by the staff themselves? A general warning is not good enough. There has to be serious consequences. A lack of pay or suspension without pay or even termination of employment would ideally make the best sense. At the end of the day, public transport is largely non-profitable and is funded by taxpayer money.
On another note, since MTC has brought back AC buses after a long time, maybe MTC could consider running AC mini-buses on certain routes, especially feeders for the metro.
Featured Image: MTC Small bus on Route S35 from Ashok Pillar/Ashok Nagar Metro Station to Defence Colony (Ekkattuthangal). Photo clicked in 2014 by Srikanth Ramakrishnan, available on the Wikimedia Commons.
On 20 April 2022, the Brihanmumbai Electricity Supply and Transport undertaking (BEST) launched its first digital bus which had a new “Tap-In and Tap-Out” system. This system is similar to London’s Oyster Card; the only difference is that in London you don’t have to tap out since there is a single fare structure on their routes. Out of curiosity I wanted to try this system since I have been thinking about this after BEST launched their conductor-less bus services.
On 3 May I went to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) and took A-115 to Churchgate. When I reached Churchgate Station there were two Electric buses on A-112 (Ahilyabai Holkar Chowk, Churchgate to Gateway of India) but since both buses didn’t have the tap-in/tap-out machines, I skipped both buses and waited for 10 -15 minutes. Then came a CNG Midi bus from Mumbai Central Depot (7147) on the same route. It never came to mind that this bus is the bus I have been waiting for. So I thought I would go back to CSMT Bus Station after taking a short trip to Gateway Of India.
A-112 between Ahilyabai Holkar Chowk, Churchgate Station and Gateway of India. (Photo: Vishal Naik)
I bought a ticket from the ground booking conductor using an NCMC (National Common Mobility Card) and he was surprised to see it since for him it was first time seeing this new card. After telling him about how the card works after tapping it on ticket machine, I boarded the bus and after a few seconds I noticed that there were tap-in/tap-out machines installed at the front and rear doors respectively.
Successful Tap-In (Photo: Vishal Naik)
After the end of this trip, I boarded the bus again. I asked the conductor if I could use my card directly on the machines he agreed and at first my NCMC sadly didn’t work so next I used my normal Chalo Card, and it worked like a charm. There was a person who was monitoring this system inside the bus. I asked him why NCMC didn’t work, and he replied that they haven’t updated this system yet which is why my NCMC wasn’t being accepted by the machine. Finally at the end of the journey I had to tap out after that the fare amount was displayed along with the balance remaining in the card on the machine and I got a printed ticket.
Tapping-Out at the destination (Photo: Vishal Naik)
Overall the system looks good, only one thing that should be skipped is printing paper tickets because at the end the machine displays remaining balance and the amount deducted for your card. The driver keeps a tab on commuters who are tapping in making sure that no one enters the bus without tapping in or having valid tickets. If a person forgets to tap out in the next tap In maximum fare will be deducted from his card balance. This system will get rid of those time consuming conductor-less services.
The Printed Ticket at the end (Photo: Vishal Naik)
Before introducing more routes BEST should increase the sales of Chalo Smart card as well as Chalo NCM. It seems like very few NCMCshave been sold because every time I show mine to any conductor it is their first time seeing an NCM. Once Mumbai Metro and the Mumbai Suburban Railway integrate NCMC in their system commuters can easily change modes of transport without carrying multiple cards.
Featured Image: BEST’s Tap-In, Tap-Out system (Photo: Vishal Naik)
If you are stepping out, do note that while masks are no longer mandatory, the new XE variant of the Wuhan Virus is making the rounds. Stay safe, better safe than sorry.
After getting well-versed with the Chalo app, it’s time to get familiar with the Chalo Card. For Mumbai, this isn’t the first time a smart card system has been implemented. Mumbaikars are already using them on Central and Western Railway for buying tickets through the automatic ticket vending machines (ATVM) for nearly a decade. The GO Mumbai Card from 2005 can be called as a precursor to the National Common Mobility Card (NCMC). It could be used for Railways as well as BEST buses although it didn’t have a bright future. Then came the Trimax RFID cards in 2011 for bus passes which were a new concept as bus ticketing got digital with the electronic ticket machines (ETMs) manufactured by Mumbai-based Powercraft Electronics under the brand-name Balaji. You can read more about the earlier version of BEST’s electronic ticketing system here- Electronic Ticketing Systems: Who got it right and how.
Fast forward to 2021, when Chalo became the new ticketing vendor for BEST, it was yet another step forward towards promoting cashless payments. The Chalo app offers payments through online methods such as UPI, Credit and Debit Cards and Net-banking for ticket purchase. To make it better, BEST launched their Super Saver Plans in Mumbai for an efficient commute. You can read about it in-detail from the previous article where we explored the Chalo App and its features. On 1 January 2022, BEST launched the long-awaited Chalo Card in Mumbai (starting from Colaba & Wadala Depot). This Smart Card works as an eWallet (replacing the earlier Trimax-powered ePurse) which can be bought from the bus conductor. After being a tremendous success in Vijayawada, Nagpur, Jabalpur, Udupi and Mangalore, the Smart Card has finally been launched in Mumbai.
Chalo Travel Card issued for use by APSRTC
The Chalo card costs ₹70 and can be recharged by adding a minimum balance of ₹10 and then further in multiples of ₹10. As explained by the crew, the Chalo card can be recharged online as well but needs to be activated by the bus conductor. The most satisfying part however, is that your balance does not come with an expiry date. So even if another lockdown is imposed from tomorrow, the amount added in your Chalo Card will remain copacetic. The wallet can be recharged on any day and at any time with the help of a bus conductor. You can even feed your Super Saver Plans in it and use it as a bus pass. There are talks to make this Card functional on the Mumbai Metro in the near future, thereby taking the city closer to a form of the NCMC. But what is the future? Time will tell…. But it’s definitely bright.
Chalo Travel Card issued by BEST in Mumbai (Photo: Gandharva Purohit)
Bus conductors in Mumbai found it difficult in the beginning to issue tickets bought through Chalo, but they have now gained confidence as the user base is increasing day by day. From the passengers’ side, the reviews are showing positive growth. As an integrated mobile app that can track buses along with showing the occupancy as well as booking tickets, Chalo has taken ticketing and bus tracking to another level. Once BEST increases its fleet strength, it will help in improving the frequency. In late January, BEST went a step ahead and integratedChalo with the Maharashtra government’s Universal Travel Pass, thus negating the need to carry a printout.
Please Note: This Article is not Sponsored by Chalo.
Featured Image: Chalo App and Card by Gandharva Purohit
If you are stepping out, make sure you wear a mask, follow COVID-appropriate behavior and keep your hands sanitised. Omicron is here and the situation is quite scary.
In a bid to make commuting easier across the city, the Brihanmumbai Electricity Supply and Transport Undertaking (BEST) has announced that it will integrate the state government’s Universal Travel Pass (UTP) for vaccinated commuters with bus tickets booked digitally using either the Chalo app or card.
This move will ensure that commuters won’t have to carry a separate printout of their pass and will be digitally verified on the screen of the ticketing machine.
The travel pass was launched in August 2021 and anyone can apply for it two weeks (14 days) after receiving their second dose of the Covid-19 vaccine (Covishield, Covaxin or Sputnik V). It was integrated into the Railways’ UTS app in November 2021 so that commuters of the Mumbai Suburbam Railway need not carry a separate printout if they are booking a ticket using their phones.
There is no word on integration of the travel pass with ticketing mechanisms of other modes of transport such as the Mumbai Metro, Mumbai Monorail, buses of other municipal bodies or the state transport corporation (MSRTC).
The Pune Mahanagar Parivahan Mahamandal Limited (PMPML) recently made the pass mandatory for all those boarding buses in Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad which has led to a mess due to the added hassle for conductors of checking the vaccination status of commuters. Given that the city also has a functional electronic ticketing mechanism in the form of the Mi Card, perhaps this step can be extended to Pune, although it is doubtful that may happen given the current government is behaving as if Mumbai is the only city in Maharashtra.
Hopefully, this will also help people move towards cashless travel.
If you are stepping out, make sure you wear a mask, follow COVID-appropriate behavior and keep your hands sanitised. Omicron is here and the situation is quite scary.
