The Brihanmumbai Electric Supply Transport (BEST) officials had a meeting with Switch Mobility a day after they served Blacklisting Notice to Causis E-Mobility for failure in delivering electric vehicles (EV). On July 19, the transport body warned the vehicle manufacturer and said if it fails to deliver 38 buses by September it will have to face consequences.
On July 18, BEST General Manager Vijay Singhal had a meeting with Switch Mobility officials. Vijay said, Mahesh Babu, CEO of Switch Mobility, assured me during our meeting that the remaining buses will be delivered within six weeks. By February, they were meant to supply 50 buses. The BEST warned that if the maker doesn't uphold the agreement it will have to face consequences as we will take action against them."
India's first electric AC double-decker bus, the Switch EiV 22, was created, developed, and produced here. These buses takes between 1.5 and 3 hours to charge, and according to Switch Mobility, they can go 250 kilometers without recharging. Along with the driver's seat, this specific bus has a seating capacity of 65 passengers.
According to Vjay Singhal, the premier public transport company had chosen two companies to deliver 900 double-decker electric buses, of which 700 had to be delivered by Causis E-Mobility and 200 by Switch Mobility.
After blacklisting Causis E-Mobility, BEST will be issuing a fresh tender for the 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 while speaking with reports on July 17.
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 said 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 than 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.
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.
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