Plying buses between city, new airport will be easy: BEST general manager

Excerpts from an interview with Om Prakash Gupta, BEST general manager.

Metros in India like Delhi, Bangalore and Hyderabad have dedicated bus services. Why not Mumbai?
The Mumbai airport is in the heart of the city. In cities like Bangalore and Delhi, the airport is outside the city and  buses are feasible and practical.

But air travellers are at the mercy of autorickshaws and cabs. A dedicated bus service will be convenient for passengers.
There are practical aspects of running an air-conditioned bus. The traffic jams and other such problems do not permit this. We have to get enough revenue to at least sustain such services. Also, if one needs to start a dedicated AC bus service, a proper study is required.

But why can't BEST try it out?
It is not so that BEST does not run services to the airport. There are services and routes connecting the airport to the city and suburbs. Running a dedicated bus services will be easy from the new airport at Panvel which is away from the city.