The Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) undertaking, the city’s civic-run public transport body, deployed six air-conditioned and four non-AC electric buses on Tuesday. A senior BEST official said these state-of-the-art buses were running on its route no 302, from Pratiksha Nagar in central Mumbai to Mulund, adding more would be deployed in the second phase. “In the second phase, 31-seater, zero-emission electric buses will run on other routes. They will be later extended to neighbouring Thane and Colaba-Nariman Point in south Mumbai. It will provide connectivity between CSMT and areas like Lower Parel and Worli which have vast office complexes,” he added.
He said the new buses inducted are 9 metres long and can travel up to 200 kilometres on a single charge. “The battery can be fully charged in three hours. The buses have electronically controlled air suspension system to
ensure a comfortable ride. Each vehicle has three CCTV cameras with continuous recording of data. They are also disabled-friendly,” he informed. The buses are expected to reduce the undertaking’s carbon footprint, and also save on fuel costs. The undertaking also launched a mobile app called ‘Best Pravas’ which will give passengers real-time information of their commute and will allow users to rate drivers.
