The record
Written from the 1 report below. Nothing here is unsourced.
- Mumbai's BEST undertaking plans to raise around Rs 6,500 crore to build a self-owned fleet of 5,000 buses, largely electric, and expand its overall fleet to 10,000 buses over the next two to three years.
- The undertaking currently runs about 2,800 buses with more wet-lease vehicles than its own, and now wants to reverse cost-cutting steps taken in 2019 such as a recruitment freeze and reliance on private operators.
- BEST plans to recruit its own drivers again and shift back to its traditional model of owning, maintaining and staffing its buses.
- The funding mechanism, whether through government support or BEST's own resources, will be decided at an upcoming committee meeting.
What to watch next
- The upcoming BEST committee meeting's decision on the Rs 6,500 crore funding mechanism
- Progress on recruiting its own bus drivers and earmarked funds for hiring
- Rollout of the 1,500 wet-lease electric buses under the PM e-Bus initiative, whose support ends in 2027
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Named India · BMC · PM e-Bus initiative · BEST · Eknath Shinde · Sonia Sethi
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