After 100 years, electric BEST buses return to Mumbai roads

Nearly a century after they were discontinued, electric buses will be back on the city’s roads. The Brihanmumbai Electric Supply & Transport (BEST) undertaking has been offered two electric-cum-CNG run buses.

The two air-conditioned Starbuses will run on the eastern and western express highway. “We passed a proposal on Thursday to run the hybrid buses in the city. It will be a historic moment,” a proud BEST chairman Sanjay Potnis told DNA.

The buses had been run on the Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) during the Commonwealth Games. Meant for intra-city transportation, the Hybrid Tata Starbus is powered with a parallel hybrid engine comprising a CNG engine and an electric motor using regenerative energy storage system.

The low-floor (floor height: 400 mm) air-conditioned bus can seat 32 passengers, and can also accommodate wheel chairs.

The BEST has recently experimented with Mercs and Volvos and this seems to be the latest in the series. “We are yet to get a timetable as to when the buses will arrive, but we shall run them for a month or so and then take a decision,” he said.