[Dieseltuned]

Originally Posted by trek

+1 to the above.

The BEST management must be kidding if they talk about lack of demand. A lot of people who are forced to drive to office in bumper to bumper traffic during peak hours would more than gladly shift over to AC buses IF there are reliable and efficient services provided by BEST.

Trust me, driving on the Western Express Highway is a big pain but people are forced to do so since there is no other reliable and comfortable mode of local transport available.

If BEST really wants to make money and get out of the mess, they need to be pro-active and introduce Volvo buses on important routes catering to the corporate work force.

Perfectly stated, I would shift to BEST from my car, if they can give a reasonably priced and a bit comfortable option then the present rickety ones.

The IT workforce around SEEPZ/MIDC/Hiranandani/Vikhroli and Airoli is huge business.

Regards
Dieseltuned

[trek]

A good alternative for those traveling to BKC and Powai via Seepz:

http://www.levodrive.com/

It's a new venture started by IIT grads. I took their bus service thrice this week and its was great. Good Buses with AC and Wi-Fi connectivity .

There are currently 3 routes with plans to expand them based on consumer demand.

Whatsapp them on +91-9004335003 to reserve a seat.

[AkMar]

Originally Posted by trek

A good alternative for those traveling to BKC and Powai via Seepz:

http://www.levodrive.com/

It's a new venture started by IIT grads. I took their bus service thrice this week and its was great. Good Buses with AC and Wi-Fi connectivity .

Any details on the pricing? What kind of buses do they have?

[trek]

Originally Posted by AkMar

Any details on the pricing? What kind of buses do they have?

They are using Tempo Travelers and will be charging an introductory fare of Rs.3/km.

However, they are currently offering free rides for this week as promotion for their opening week.

[apachelongbow]

If no one is patronising BEST then their service is not needed for the city. High time to shut them and stop wasting public money. Instead allow private operators to start bis routes to enable better services at cheaper costs.

[amtak]

Originally Posted by apachelongbow

If no one is patronising BEST then their service is not needed for the city. High time to shut them and stop wasting public money. Instead allow private operators to start bis routes to enable better services at cheaper costs.

No need to shut them down. Just sell them to private parties, lay off a few lazy senior officers and buy new buses.

1. Scrap Cerita buses - no need to run them. They cost time and money.
2. Run non ac services where they were running AC ceritas; while they may not get AC passengers, they will surely have other passengers. Slowly, re-introduce AC buses again in future.
3. Lease/purchase buses from other municipal corporations like NMMT, VVMT, or KDMTalong with their business model. They know how to run profitably!

[ghodlur]

Looks like the recent turmoil in the BEST revenues has asked for some strict measures to be taken to keep the undertaking floating. The fuel subsidy to some senior management has been reduced. GM ranked people used to get 100 ltrs of free fuel per month, while officer level staff used to get 75 ltrs of free fuel every month. The fuel qty has been reduced for these people by which BEST hopes to save a whopping 40L per month. The staff still gets free fuel which IMO is uncalled for. In these testing times, the free fuel options should have been totally stopped. Let these guys travel by the BEST buses to get the first hand feel of how the undertaking is functioning on the roads.

More details in the link.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/c...w/48962514.cms

[Dieseltuned]

Originally Posted by apachelongbow

If no one is patronising BEST then their service is not needed for the city.

Well they do keep surprising us. As I mentioned in one of my other posts on the 'Mumbai Traffic' thread, I have stopped using my car and have been using the BEST service since last 1 week now. On each day most of their buses have been on time including the much ridculed ceritas.

I use the AS-524 or the C-60 service from Borivali to Powai and have been not disappointed in this week. Consider the fact the JVLR is facing a huge traffic jam since 3 days now and the recent derailment, still they have managed to handle the extra load.

Today morning also they were running extra buses on routes like 348, c-71, etc to clear off the train rush

They always act as a great 'Plan B' in case the 'Plan A' (trains/ or 'car' in my case fail).

I think they just need a good sound head at the top to put things in perspective.


P.S :: I will not be using my car till the Ganpati festival is over. My way of contributing to reducing traffic snarls and making Bombay a better place to live in.

Regards
Dieseltuned

[AkMar]

Originally Posted by trek

A good alternative for those traveling to BKC and Powai via Seepz:

http://www.levodrive.com/

There is another provider - City Flo. They operate only to BKC as of now. They too have Tempo travellers. I see one of the vehicles daily in the morning.

However, unlike levodrive this is an app based service. Their app is currently available only on Android.

[Dieseltuned]

What is the legality of these services ? Do they have to apply for some specific operator permits just like the fleet cab operators or they just normal travel wallas with funky names to woo the IT and white collar junta ?

Has B.E.S.T not taken heed of these services, they can be a serious threat to B.E.S.T.

Regards
Dieseltuned

[AkMar]

Originally Posted by Dieseltuned

What is the legality of these services ? Do they have to apply for some specific operator permits just like the fleet cab operators or they just normal travel wallas with funky names to woo the IT and white collar junta ?

Has B.E.S.T not taken heed of these services, they can be a serious threat to B.E.S.T.

Strictly speaking, they can be termed illegal. I doubt whether they have got/applied for any permits either. However one can also look at them on lines similar to Uber/Ola - something for which no regulations exist.

With just a couple of tempo travellers every morning, I believe they aren't an immediate threat to BEST. However if they gather momentum and become a success then they can pose a threat. It would be interesting to see how these ideas perform.

[AkMar]

Travelled in a Cerita bus after a long time today. As usual the bus was struggling. The driver was trying his best though, to extract whatever performance the bus had on offer. Even on mild slopes it broke into a sweat to maintain speed above 20-25 km/h. The engine literally had to be wringed for every bit of power.

Grabbed a last row seat and recorded this sound of the engine while climbing a slope on JVLR: https://soundcloud.com/akshaywcam1/2...-2015-10-33-11

This was on the stretch between Durga nagar signal & Kamal Amrohi studio, going towards Powai. At the beginning of the video, the bus is in auto mode and upshifts to 2nd gear after gaining some speed. But it is unable to maintain that speed in 2nd gear. The gearboxes on these buses are extremely reluctant to downshift, hence driver manually selected 1st gear. After gaining some speed in 1st, he again goes back to D mode on the gear selector only to get the same result - the bus is unable to maintain speed. So after a while he again downshifts into 1st, and leaves it that way till end of the gradient. There was no point in going back to D again as the bus would not be able to retain momentum.

All this while, the engine was making sounds of the magnitude of an aircraft taking off

[AkMar]

Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) committee members, on Friday, asked management to stop air-conditioned buses altogether, what with only 143 out of the 280 still running.
Committee member Ravi Raja said, “We are running only 143 buses out of the original 280 and I think that we should stop running air-conditioned buses. Since we have realised that these buses are not running up to the mark and instead of further dampening the undertaking’s image, we should stop them altogether.”
Mr Raja had asked BEST for the exact number of AC buses running on the ground when he was informed about the low numbers. “These numbers are by the management for the month of September. So, why isn’t the undertaking scrapping them all at once?” he questioned.
In March this year, BEST had started taking the buses off the road after continuous breakdowns and increasing maintenance costs.
Another committee member, Kedar Hombalkar, said the value the undertaking might get out of scrapping the buses will decrease the longer they lie around in depots. “We need to sell them out for scrap as soon as we can before the value further decreases,” he said.

Source: http://www.asianage.com/mumbai/best-...l-ac-buses-376

In December, the number has further gone down to 109. The sooner these buses are taken off roads, the better it would be. However it will be a loss for commuters as they were at least an option, even though last option. It at least provided an air conditioned journey cheaper than an autorickshaw.

Volvos should be purchased ASAP. Mumbai badly needs AC bus services.

[ghodlur]

Originally Posted by AkMar

Volvos should be purchased ASAP. Mumbai badly needs AC bus services.

Exactly. Instead of opting for good quality buses, scrapping the existing fleet will put more burden on the existing routes and subsequently on the non AC bus staff. Which means they will now be even more rasher on the roads to meet the targets.

I don't think any of the BEST management team has personally travelled on such routes to confirm if they are viable. Merely looking at the maintenance costs and taking a half hearted decision to stop running AC buses is making them look like Jackasses.

[Dieseltuned]

Aren't we all missing the point "Who approved the purchase of these buses in the first place ? " Was it the babu heading BEST at that time or was it a political decision ? Why not find that out and punish those guys for wasting public funds ? I know I am beating a dead horse