The Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) is planning to increase the number of midi buses in Mumbai.
A tender will be floated to introduce 200 midi AC buses and it is planned to introduce them after the monsoon.
Midi buses for small and narrow routes were introduced in the BEST fleet a few years ago. However, BEST had reduced the number of midi buses due to scrapping of the midi buses it owned after their lifespan expired and it had recieved various complaints from passengers against owned and private midi buses.
Now, plans are being made to increase the service of this same bus. In the year 2024, there were about 1,600 midi buses. This number has come down to 865. Of these, 625 are leased midi buses and 240 midi buses are owned by BEST.
Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, while reviewing various BEST projects, had recently suggested running small buses to provide services to the railway station area and Gallogalli, as well as to increase income.
After that, BEST has now planned to lease 200 midi AC buses. A senior BEST official informed that the aim is to introduce these buses in service from October after conducting a tender process for this.
If these midi buses are introduced, they are planned to operate in areas such as Bhandup, Vikhroli, Malad, Andheri etc. Earlier, the number of midi buses was high in Bhandup. However, it was said that efforts are being made to restore this number as this number has decreased.
There are a total of 2,758 buses in the BEST fleet. Out of which 639 are owned by BEST and 2,119 are leased buses. The number of BEST buses has decreased in the last few years, which is causing inconvenience to the passengers.
Since the BEST initiative will have to provide bus services immediately after the fare hike is implemented, it has set a goal of introducing 1,000 leased buses by December 2025.
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