Over the years, the number of daily passengers of BEST has dropped to 28 lakh from 30 lakh.
Mumbai’s loss-making public transport service BEST benefited during the 12-day long Ola-Uber strike. The undertaking has claimed that they saw around seven to 10 per cent growth in the number of daily passengers ferried by them during the strike period when around 55,000 cabs were off the road.
“We saw a sudden spurt in number of passengers using our bus services during this period. We expect an increase by 7-10 per cent in passengers ferried by our buses. We are calculating the exact figures,” said Hanumant Gophane, spokesperson, BEST.
Over the years, the number of daily passengers of BEST has dropped to 28 lakh from 30 lakh. In fact, BEST officials claim that during holiday seasons they have plummeted further to 25 lakh passengers. Under such circumstances, the strike came as a boon for other modes of transportation like auto rickshaws, taxis and BEST buses.
BEST old-timers were all praise for the service that BEST extended during the period.
“It was the first alternate service provider that came to my mind. All said and done, most drivers and conductors of BEST buses are polite and they do a decent job,” said Mili Shetty, resident of Charkop who frequently uses app-based cab services.
BEST service, once city’s second-most favoured public transport after the trains, has been steadily losing commuters over time. This has mainly been due to lack of predictability, punctuality and the time it takes on the road to reach a destination.
“Our bus stops are not in good shape and they do not provide us real-time information,” said Rohit Moza, an Andheri-based banker.
People normally do not wait for buses to arrive as the waiting period between two buses is too long. “It takes 25-30 minutes for buses to come. Who will wait that long?”, said Ravi Raja, member, BEST Committee.
Officials claimed that since app cabs were off roads, they could ferry passengers in a faster way.
BUS COMMUTERS
2015-16 28L
2016-17 28L
2017-18 26L
2018-19 28L
(projected)
Source: BEST
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