The Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) commuters travelling via Bandra and Kurla are very disappointed with the new AC double-decker bus. The bus can neither go to Kurla station nor Bandra station or terminus, which is the original 310 route. The bus cannot run on these station areas due to its height and other technical issues.
The older double-decker buses are shorter than the new AC electric double-deckers. Two distinct bus types have been forced into service, with the regular single-deckers operating the entire 310 route and ten brand-new double-deckers operating on a restricted route, in what is being called a waste of resources.
Commuters are calling it a big blunder made by the authorities. The commuters have to change the bus mid-way. The actual rush is on hotspots like Kurla and Bandra stations. From these places majority of the crowd boards the bus. Since the new buses cannot make a commute on these spots, the commuters have termed it as a ‘waste of resource.’
At the Kurla end, the double-decker bus takes a U-turn near BKC Telephone Junction. At the Bandra end, the double-decker bus terminates at the bus station opposite Bandra Court. Despite these limitations, buses were extremely crowded during morning and evening rush hours. A set of single-decker buses picked up passengers from the Kurla station, which was extremely crowded throughout the day.
A BEST official said that the old double-decker bus was about 4.38 meters tall, while the new AC double-decker bus stands 4.75 meters tall. The Santacruz Chembur Link Road (SCLR) two-deck bridge is where the issues are being observed. Because of this, the new double-deckers are only available until the BKC MTNL bus stop.
According to officials, the BEST currently operates 25 of its 49 air-conditioned double-decker buses in south Mumbai (three of which are still undergoing registration). The remaining 14 buses will be introduced in the suburbs.
Last month BEST conducted a survey and identified potentially harmful tree branches, speed breakers, and height barriers installed on roads. The double-decker buses will be ready to run through BKC and Andheri routes within a fortnight.
A batch of 19 AC double-decker BEST buses will be running on roads soon. Out of these 19, a batch of 10 AC buses will operate between Bandra and Kurla via BKC said BEST officials. In the next phase, nine double-decker buses will be operating on the Andheri-Marol-Seepz route.
This was the same route on which non-ac double-decker bus used to run before retirement in September. The old buses are parked at the Bandra station and Kurla Bus Depot.
Share
Tweet
