Soon, BEST to offer better buses

“We have a fleet comprising all kinds of buses. Besides, the AC and non-AC buses, there are buses bought under various schemes. To bring down the cost of maintaining a fleet comprising different types of buses, we are now working on a procurement policy,” said BEST general manager, Jagdish Patil.

The policy which is being worked out by BEST, will also ensure that the buses are “people-friendly” besides being conducive to the local requirements of the city. “We will also look at whether the buses can last in the available road infrastructure and if they will be able to cope with the local weather conditions etc. In terms of weather, we will have to see what kind of body and flooring a bus should have,” added Patil.

Other factors will also be considered while finalising the procurement policy such as improving the driving environment by purchasing better material for the bus, better seats and improved specifications for the alignment of the seat.

“If we want to have a fleet plying to the airport, we will have to ensure that there is space for keeping baggage,” said an official. The policy is expected to be finalised by this month-end.

BEST which has scrapped 119 buses in March2015, will scrap another 180 buses by 2016. This procurement policy will be basis for purchasing new buses by this year-end. Already, the BEST fleet has come down from 4,500 in 2012 to 4,200 presently.

The transport body has, in fact, been incurring huge losses running its fleet of air-conditioned buses and had recently decided to curtail at least three to four routes from this month onwards as they were loss-making.

The cash-strapped organsiation has been going slow on procurement due to the funds problem. However, BMC, has now agreed to give the fourth installment of the Rs 150 , sought by BEST.

Approximately 40 lakh passengers travel on BEST buses daily but this number has been dwindling over the years. BEST hopes to prevent further decline in the numbers, by ensuring that their buses meet the requirements of the commuters using public transport.