In a good news for Mumbaikars, the Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) has resumed its services involving 369 out of 400 CNG buses that had been withdrawn last month.
The bus services were withdrawn keeping in mind the safety of passengers after one of them caught fire. However, following an inspection by their manufacturer, Tata Motors, the undertaking decided to gradually resume services with the 400 buses.
These buses ply from depots in Dharavi, Santacruz, Majas and Pratiksha Nagar and are mainly operated on 32 routes in the city and western suburbs.
There are around 3,500 buses in the BEST fleet. Of them, 1,700 are operated on a wet-lease basis, which means the vehicles are owned by private contractors, who select their drivers and see to maintenance.
“The BEST should keep an eye on their maintenance. Even now there is a need for checking buses daily,” said former BEST committee member Ravi Raja.
For those unversed, on February 22, a non-AC single-decker, operated by Mateshwari Ltd, which was running on route 415, caught fire in Andheri East—the third such incident in a month. Luckily, the vehicle was empty at the time. In the wake of the blaze, the authorities withdrew 400 buses provided by the contractor, which inconvenienced commuters to a great extent.
Former BEST Chairman Ashish Chemburkar said proper technical inspections should be held regularly as there is a possibility of issues occurring. The manufacturing team should inspect these buses at certain intervals. The BEST should also verify the findings.
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