A BEST bus plying with just a few passengers? This, by any stretch of the imagination, would be eyebrow-raising.
But this is what seems to be the order of the day for route no A 70 Express and 33 Express. And that these two services more often than not run with a few passengers has been admitted by none other than the BEST authority itself.
In a reply to an RTI plea, the BEST authority has revealed that the routes have been put to service without a proper survey. There was much brouhaha over the charges BEST had to pay for plying these long-route fast service buses on the Rajiv Gandhi Sea Link.
When Rajan Alimchandani, a Worli resident, noticed that the two-month old service from the island city to Mira Road did not halt at a bus stop that was in the vicinity of two colleges and a large residential area, he filed the application.
To his surprise, to make the service routes economically viable, the BEST did not conduct a survey or even bothered to check on the number of passengers using the service.
“Once they are in the business of providing service, it is only logical to have bus stops in places where many passengers can be picked up. They did not even conduct a study to find out where there would be the highest number of passengers waiting or alighting,” said Alimchandani.
The applicant was particularly surprised at the two bus stops that are not very far from each other. When questioned about the basis of selection of the stops, the reply stated that no study was conducted. It also said the logic of selecting the stops was that one is closer to a junction and the other near connecting roads.
“It would be better if they take one stop closer to Venus as there are two colleges in that area. Many residents too avail the service from there,” said Vishal Jain, a commuter from the Worli Sea face (south) bus stop. “They are not looking at the number of people who can benefit. I have written to BEST for a bus stop there.”
According to Alimchandani, the BEST is not serious about it. “Someone surely needs to take this up at higher levels. The authority is not working. They are burning public money without studying the market. One day they will say that they had to shut the service as they were on losses,” he said.
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