The undertaking has been consistently spending a lot on fuel, which comes second to expenditure on salaries and manpower.
The Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST), which is already in troubled waters, has spent over Rs 550 crore on diesel in the past four years. As per the recent count (till February 2018), of the 3411 buses in their fleet, close to 1335 buses run on diesel. The undertaking has been consistently spending a lot on fuel, which comes second to expenditure on salaries and manpower.
According to sources in BEST, they had spent Rs 139 crore from April 2017 to February 2018. "We are yet to get the exact figure for the financial year; it can touch Rs 140 crore. The continuous hike in prices of diesel is surely a concern for us," said a BEST official.
With the consistent rise in fuel price over the past few months, it is bound to further burden BEST coffers. Senior officials said that between 2014 and 2017, they have spent well over Rs 415 crore on fuel. Apart from this, they have also spent heavily on CNG, which amounts to over Rs 910 crore between April 2014 and February 2018.
The BEST has 120 double deckers, 1208 single deckers, 6 AC, and 1 ultra-low floor buses that run on diesel. Of these, on an average, around 400 buses are off the road for maintenance or other purposes. These buses are heavy guzzlers with the fleet of diesel buses consuming an average of 21-22 lakh litre each month.
"We will have to bear the burden of the rising cost of fuel. As of now there is no proposal for a fare hike," said Ashish Chemburkar, Chairman, BEST Committee.
The rising cost and mounting losses of over Rs 1760 crore has already made running the service problematic for the undertaking. Over the months, there has been a drop of daily passengers to 25 lakh from 42 lakh (this was the number nearly a decade ago).
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