BEST Serves ‘Blacklist Notice’ To Contractor As It Fails To Supply 700 EV Buses

On July 17, the Brihanmumbai Electric Supply of Transport (BEST) issued a "blacklisting" notice to private firm Causis E-Mobility. The reason of serving notice was that the firm allegedly failed to supply 700 electric double-decker buses as per the contract, a senior official said.

According to BEST General Manager Vjay Singhal, the premier public transport company has chosen two companies to deliver 900 double-decker electric buses, of which 700 had to be delivered by Causis E-Mobility.

The firm in accordance with contract, has till date neither supplied buses or the prototype. Hence they have served a blacklisting notice to the company and are planning to take legal action against Causis E-Mobility, Singhal said.

BEST will be issuing a fresh tender for supply of 700 double-decker buses. If the rates quoted are higher than the ones at which BEST gave the contract, BEST will also encourage the government to seek compensation from Causis for the discrepancy.

"I don't understand why the notice of blacklisting was not published sooner. It ought to have been released much sooner. We have nevertheless issued it at this time," Singhal said.

The BEST officer also said to the reporters that on July 18, he had called a meeting of officials of Switch Mobility, which has to supply 200 buses on wet lease. Till now the firm has supplied only 12 out of 200 double-decker e-buses.

Singhal noted that BEST's fleet size has decreased "beyond imagination" and announced that the firm will begin receiving new single-deck AC electric buses made by Olectra in August or September. The company has committed to delivering all 2,100 vehicles by the end of March.

"We used to have more than 4,000 buses in our fleet, but we only have 3100 or so now," stated Singhal. He further added BEST should have invited more small bus tenders rather than waiting for a court decision.

He said that if the invitation was sent to the firms back then, some 400-500 buses would have joined the fleet by now. Considering the size and population of Mumbai, more 5000 to 6000 vehicles are needed to be undertaken, he added.

After the suburban railway network and ferries around 30 lakh commuters per day, BEST is the second largest public transporter in Mumbai and the adjoining metropolitan area.

In a press statement dated October 2021, Causis claimed to have obtained a contract for the supply of 700 buses, the first batch of which would come from its Jaipur plant.

According to the announcement, the company would establish a plant in Pune to produce the remaining buses.

Last month the Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari, had said that BEST bus tickets in Mumbai could be reduced by 30% after the public transport vehicles were converted into electric vehicles. This would reduce the operational cost by two-thirds.

The use of electric vehicles in public transportation will assist lower operating costs and pollution. EVs are the future of transportation, Gadkari claimed. He stated, "We have introduced air-conditioned double-decker buses in the BEST fleet. BEST buses now have an operating cost per kilometer of 114, which can be reduced to 39 for non-AC and 41 for AC buses by switching the fleet to electric vehicles.”