Not BEST solution: Citizens want decongested roads, not smaller buses in Mumbai

As BEST undertaking officials plan to drop 12-metre buses from narrow lanes, citizens say roads must be cleared of encroachments, hawkers and illegal parking instead

The plan by the BEST undertaking to stop plying 12-metre-long buses on busy and congested streets, especially near railway stations, will defeat the purpose of public transport, leading to more crowding, more buses, more services, and more manpower, commuters have said. Commuters questioned the logic behind such a decision, suggesting that authorities should instead focus on clearing roads of illegal hawkers and parking, which drastically narrow the roads. Transport experts have offered mixed opinions.

The bus involved in the December 9 accident in Kurla was a 12-metre-long bus on route 332, which runs between Kurla station west and Andheri East. BEST bus commuters on route 332 have often faced overcrowded buses. Initially, the bus was a double-decker but was later replaced by switch AC double-decker buses. The height of the new buses caused problems, leading them to be restricted to route 332 on LBS Road. However, BEST continued operating the buses at Kurla station west and introduced a 12-metre bus. Following the accident, BEST announced it would stop using 12-metre buses and replace them with smaller ones. From now on, the BEST will operate 6- to 9-metre buses on the route.

BEST resumes operations in Kurla on Friday. Pics/Sayyed Sameer Abedi

“What is the logic behind this? They are making this decision in a severely congested city. Instead of strengthening public transport, they are weakening it. This will only lead to more crowding at the bus stops,” regular commuter Rajesh Mahapatra said. “They had introduced small tempo traveller buses on this very route after the lockdown, and the queues were so long that they extended all the way to the station. This is an extremely busy route, and it needs larger buses with a higher frequency,” said another regular commuter, Ramjyoti Dube.

“Does BEST have enough buses and manpower to increase the frequency on this route? If not, then they should not make changes for now. In the end, it will be the commuters who suffer,” said commuter Ankit Repale.

“It’s the most ridiculous decision and probably something BEST always wanted to do. The only reason they have now an excuse is because of the accident. Imagine if MSRTC switched to mini or 9-metre buses across the state. People are crying out for more buses, and with smaller buses, the crowds would be left behind. They should not do this unless BEST is in cahoots with the taxi and rickshaw unions,” said commuter and bus fan Khurshed Lawyer.

He added, “If you recall, they had converted full-length 66-number buses into smaller ones, citing an inability to turn into narrow lanes, but this only happened after the advent of wet-lease private buses. Before that, BEST’s trained drivers operated full-length single-decker and double-decker buses, as well as MUTP and JNNURM buses. Frankly, I can't help but think that BEST is more concerned with reducing the size of the fleet, possibly with the aim of shutting it down altogether.”

Transport experts disagree:

“Large buses should be used on long trunk routes, mid-sized buses on medium routes, and minibuses on feeder routes or narrow roads. The advantage will be more mini buses with higher frequency. Fewer large buses will make passengers more willing to board since the next bus will only be a few minutes away,” said Jagdeep Desai, architect, academician, and founder trustee of the Forum for Improving Quality of Life in Mumbai.

“Twelve-metre buses need a larger turning radius and are difficult to manoeuvre on narrow roads near most railway stations. Hawkers are a separate issue, involving the BMC, politicians, and the police, and needs to be addressed separately,” said AV Shenoy, of the Mumbai Vikas Samiti and Mumbai Mobility Forum.

OfficialSpeak

BEST officials said the plan to convert buses is still under discussion, and any decision to convert all buses will depend on the report of the committee, which will be submitted on Monday. “Two committees have been formed—one examining the wet-lease model and another looking into the accident and related developments,” an official said.

How many buses?

While a 12-metre bus can carry 45 seated passengers, a 9-metre bus carries 35 seated passengers. Ironically, BEST has a fleet of about 608 12-metre buses, including 300 Olectra, 125 Tata Motors Ltd, and 183 self-owned buses. Another 30 are expected to join the wet-lease fleet by December 2024.

Breath analysers at depots

“Every bus depot will be equipped with two breath analyser devices. We have already started the process, and soon, every depot will have two machines installed,” said a top official.

A few buses restored

Four days after the accident involving a BEST bus at Kurla West, the undertaking resumed most of its buses and routes from Kurla West railway station. However, electric buses operated by wet-lease operators are still on hold. BEST is running smaller 6- to 9-metre buses instead of the 12-metre buses.

The BEST resumed bus route numbers 37, 310, 318, 319, 320, 325, 330, 332, 311, 313, 446, and 365, plying to Bandra Kurla Complex, Santacruz, and Bandra West. “Who in BEST decided to curtail the buses? The police said they never gave any directive. It was the BEST Kurla depot that independently decided to close down the bus stop hub at Kurla station, inconveniencing lakhs of passengers. I have demanded an inquiry into this,” said local activist Anil Galgali. 

Dec 9
Day of the accident

Seven
No. of deaths in accident

608
No. 12-metre buses with BEST

Campaign planned to ‘save BEST’

WE are going back to the people and launching a signature campaign on buses,” BEST Workers’ Union General Secretary Shashank Sharad Rao stated at a press conference called to announce the BEST Bachao, a campaign that will be launched by the union to “save the undertaking”.

“We will be asking BMC to provide funds. The BMC has a budget of over R50,000 crore but cannot even provide a few crores to the BEST to improve their own fleet. We will start the BEST Bachao campaign on December 18 wherein we will take up signature campaign from citizens,” he said.

“The wet-lease model is not working. There has been no new recruitment of drivers since 2013. There is an urgent need to restore the BEST standards,” he said
“We have also demanded that the undertaking should not send our employees on wet-lease buses as our permanent employees will be at risk. The wet-lease buses are not maintained well,” he said.

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