BEST Earnings Go Up by a Crore Daily; Ridership Drops to 25 Lakh
In fact, the ridership fell drastically from 32 lakh prior to the fare hike in May to 25 lakh in August, sources said.
Apart from ridership, the fleet of buses also dipped significantly, and this has gone below the pre-Covid level—from 3,500 buses in 2019 to 2,680 buses at present. Volunteers from the citizens' group Aamchi Mumbai Aamchi BEST said that the migration of bus commuters to share autos and share taxis was a primary cause of the drop in ridership over the past three months.
The minimum bus fare was hiked from Rs 5 to Rs 10, while the minimum AC fare was increased from Rs 6 to Rs 12 in May.
In comparison, the minimum share auto fare is Rs 10. "Several commuters, frustrated after waiting for buses for 40 minutes, do not mind switching to share autos at the same price from the railway station," said an AMAB volunteer.
Similarly, the delay in the delivery of new electric AC buses on wet lease led to a drop in fleet size.
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A transport analyst said: "The BEST signed two contracts totalling the procurement of 4,500 e-AC buses from a contractor and 250 from another contractor. Around 700 buses have been delivered, and the remaining are yet to arrive in the fleet. At the same time, it is phasing out old buses owned by the undertaking." The buses are being phased out as they have completed the lifespan of 15 years.
This BEST-owned fleet dipped from 3,337 buses in 2019 to 419 at present.
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When contacted, passengers' rights activist Gaurang Vora said: "BEST should seriously increase its fleet strength and reduce fares to some extent to woo more riders, especially from the poor strata of society." Volunteers of AMAB protested outside 22 bus depots on BEST's Foundation Day last week to demand a reduction in bus fares.
"The staff, including drivers, should also improve their behaviour. I travel frequently, and I have noticed that the staff is rude. Drivers often brake suddenly, drive rashly, and jump signals. When we speak to them, they are abusive. This was totally unheard of in the past. In the past, they used to fear the public and apologise," Vora said.
BEST's present fleet comprises 419 undertaking-owned buses and 2,269 buses on wet lease. The buses cover an average 160 km run per day, with the turnout being 85% to 90%.
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