BEST has launched its first set of air-conditioned minibuses in the city today. The six minibuses have been inducted in the Brihanmumbai Electricity Supply and Transport (BEST) fleet. They were launched by Shiv Sena Cheif Uddhav Thackeray at the BEST headquarters in Colaba.
Applauding the efforts by BEST and BMC administration Thackeray said, “It will not only attract more commuters but will also give tough competition to cab aggregators like Ola and Uber. We have to bail out BEST from its current precarious condition and such steps will prove useful.”
As reported by a source to AA, “These mini-buses have a capacity of 21 seaters and 7 standees and will ply on feeder routes eg. from railway and metro stations to colonies. This will provide last-mile connectivity to lakhs of commuters in the city and suburbs.”
Sources further added, “The rest of the minibuses are expected to be launched by January 2020. The BEST will pay the private company FORCE Rs 57 per km depending upon the running.”
Though the routes have yet to be finalised sources reveal that they will include busy station areas like Prabhadevi, Lower Parel, Malad and Goregaon. A significant number of buses will be deployed on the CSMT-Fort-Nariman Point and Churchgate-Nariman Point-Cuffe Parade routes.
The buses have been wet-leased for a period of seven years and will be operated on Diesel. But they will be introduced in the city after registration. Even though the buses have been introduced on wet lease, no one will lose their jobs affirmed the Shiv Sena head honcho.
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