BEST to induct Volvo buses in fleet on Monday

More than two months after a proposal was cleared to acquire 50 air-conditioned Volvo buses and assurances of inducting them in its fleet, the Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport Undertaking (BEST) will finally induct two on Monday.

The BEST promises the induction to be a grand ceremony attended by Shiv Sena executive president Uddhav Thackeray, Mumbai’s Mayor Shraddha Jadhav and commissioner of MCGM Swadheen Kshatriya.

Once the buses are officially inducted, they will ply between Oshiwara and Backbay depot with a frequency of 30 minutes, said the official spokesperson for the BEST, NA Walawalkar.

The remaining 48 will be added to the BEST’s fleet gradually. BEST Committee Chairman, Sanjay Potnis, explained the reason for the delay. "We placed the order for the buses only after the proposal was cleared by the committee. Since we got the buses custom-made for BEST, it took some time to induct them into the fleet."

The BEST committee had cleared the administration’s proposal to induct 50 new air-conditioned Volvo buses in it’s fleet, in a meeting held in mid-September. According to the proposal, 50 Volvos were to be added to the undertaking’s effective fleet of 4685 under a first-of-it’s-kind PPP (Public-Private-Partnership) that BEST had entered with Asian Concierge.

As per the terms of the PPP, all 50 buses are to be leased to the BEST free of cost for 10 years, in return for advertising rights to the firm inside and outside the buses and also in 150 bus shelters across the city for 3 years.

The maintenance costs will also be borne by the private firm for the first three years.