Mumbai to get eco-friendly AC buses soon

Mumbai will soon get more air conditioned buses, which will also be eco-friendly. On Tuesday, the BEST Committee approved 20 eco-friendly, AC electric bair-conditionedular Midi buses.

These are being procured on wet lease basis at a cost of Rs 1.6 crore each. These will add to the recently introduced 25 AC hybrid buses that run on both electricity and diesel.

The electric buses will hit the roads within six months after getting inducted.

"We will procure new electric buses under the FAME India Scheme of Department of Heavy Industry, subject to an Industrial court directive," said a BEST official. The Undertaking will hire these buses from Goldstone Infrastructure, which has already supplied four electric midi buses, each costing around Rs 1.61 crore, to the undertaking.

According to the proposal, BEST has assured monthly operation of 4,000 km at the rate of Rs 51.75 per Km and Rs 55.17 per Km for non-AC and AC electric buses, respectively. BEST is also yet to receive 40 AC midi buses as per an earlier announcement.

The contractor was supposed to supply 25 percent of the total buses within three months of operation and the remaining 75 percent before six months.

Currently, BEST has a fleet of more than 3300 buses, including four electric buses. Unlike fossil fuel run buses, electric buses are considered as eco-friendly as their exhausts do not emit smoke and noise. It will also need less maintenance and reduce carbon footprint.