13 January,2025 04:01 PM IST | Mumbai | Rajendra B. Aklekar
Nine people had died after the driver of a BEST bus lost control and rammed into several vehicles in Kurla on December 9. File pic
In the past five years, 834 Brihanmumbai Electrict Supply and Transport (BEST) bus accidents have occurred in which 88 Mumbaikars have lost their lives, the transport body stated in a Right to Information (RTI) query. The undertaking also revealed that it had disbursed compensation worth 42.4 crore to the families of the victims as well as to the injured. While 14 employees have been dismissed in accident-related cases, 24 staffers have also been suspended.
The statistics were revealed by Egal Benjamin, Senior Transport Officer of BEST, after RTI activist Anil Galgali had asked the administration about the number of accidents, fatalities and financial compensation disbused in the past five years.
Of the total 834 accidents that took place in the past five years, 352 involved the undertaking's buses. They recorded 51 fatalities. Meanwhile, 37 people lost their lives in 482 accidents involving private contractors. The highest number of fatalities - 21 - were recorded in the years 2022-23 and 2023-24.
The administration disbursed Rs 42.4-crore financial compensation to the families of the victims and the injured. The highest total amount - Rs 12.4 crore - was disbursed in the year 2022-23 when 107 accidents were recorded. In the year 2019-20, the BEST paid 9.55 crore to the accidents victims, while Rs 3.44 crore was paid in the year 2020-21, 9.45 crore in the year 2021-22, and 7.54 crore in the year 2023-24.
The administration has dimissed 12 employees in the cases involving fatalities while two staffers were dismissed in personal injury cases. Twenty-four employees have also been suspended in personal injury cases. In other cases, the administration resorted to warning, counselling, monetary recovery and other actions.
Galgali said the statistics indicate that BEST administration and employees need to take more precautions to prevent accidents and make commute safer for Mumbaikars.
