Due to the coronavirus outbreak, there has been a 21-day lockdown been imposed on the country and Maharashtra is no different. During this lockdown, all means of public transport including the local trains, which are considered to be the lifeline of the city have been shut. To ensure that people engaged in emergency services such as hospitals, media, security etc can reach their destination, BEST buses are being deployed.
At present 1,600 BEST buses are running on Mumbai roads for the service. These services are not only beneficial for Mumbai residents but also for employees commuting from neighbouring areas like Navi Mumbai, Thane, Vasai, Virar.
The transport wing prepares a schedule for a day based on the response it received for its services on the previous day. Meanwhile, in various parts of the city, the employees have to face hassles due to no services. Following which, there have been demands to connect the route with the existing BEST bus services.
On the other hand, BEST and State Transport (ST) buses are working in co-ordination to ferry passengers living outside the Mumbai Metropolitan Region. The ST buses ply the passengers to certain points in the city where the BEST buses provide services.
The BEST Corporation ran 1,674 buses on Friday, March 27 till 5:00 pm. For which, the transport wing had appointed 3,284 conductors along with 3,500 drivers.
In the meantime, the state government has been taking all the necessary measures to ensure hassle-free travel for the employees of essential services. The bus service has been made free of cost for them and various new routes have also been introduced to assist the hospitals operating isolation wards.
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