BEST to halve bus services on visarjan day

The Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) Undertaking will run on half its strength on Saturday, the Ganpati visarjan day.

Anticipating the traffic congestion on roads, especially during the second half, the BEST Undertaking has decided to keep about half of its bus fleet off the roads after 2.30 pm. It will also reduce the number of air-conditioned buses plying in south and central Mumbai.

“Since Anant Chaturdashi is on Saturday, several roads in the city and suburbs will be closed for traffic. The number commuters will also be less and thus, as per the practice, the number of scheduled buses will be reduced,” said a statement released by the BEST Undertaking on Wednesday.

After 2.30 pm, out of the 3,905 buses scheduled for operations, only 1,900 buses will ply. “Also, some AC buses entering the city after 1pm will not be brought under operations,” said the statement. It did not mention the number of services and AC bus routes which will not function.

Commuters travelling between the city and the suburbs are likely to be hit the most by the change in schedule. Despite repeated attempts, BEST officials could not be contacted for details about the routes.