[dZired]

Life span of Mumbai's BEST buses has been reduced from 15 years to 12 years. This step has been taken to ensure that older buses that suffer from rattles and other maintenance issues are replaced by new buses.

An announcement made by BEST general manager - Jagdish Patil, revealed that around 56% of BEST buses currently plying on Mumbai's roads are over 8 years old. Out of a total fleet strength of 3,963 buses, there are 634 buses that are 12-15 years old. These vehicles will now be scrapped and replaced by newly purchased buses. The first set of 100 new buses for BEST is expected to arrive in March 2017.

Mr. Patil has also claimed that BEST hasn't purchased new buses for the past six years. This has caused the average age of the fleet's buses to rise, thus increasing the overall maintenance costs. Moreover, BEST has seen a drop of 30% passengers during the last seven years. With the new buses in place, BEST is hoping to attract more commuters on its transportation medium, and thus regain its lost share of commuters.

Source: ET Auto

Link to Team-BHP News

[lamborghini]

Much much needed!

These buses are amongst the most polluting vehicles on the road spewing out black smoke at every opportunity!
I hope the new buses run on cleaner fuel before Mumbai becomes like Delhi.

[rikhav]

This is indeed surprising

The route i travel to work (256) has some buses with old type of registration number , so one can imagine how old the buses will be

So forget 15 years, these buses by age would be atleast 25 years old

Ofcourse they redo the seats, suspension and engine and body but not before its completely in shambles

All buses starting from Malwani depot are one of the oldest used by BEST
The white and red ones have air suspension. About a year back few buses had the suspension redone and it was a treat to travel in those buses but sadly they are in so bad shape now that one feels there is nothing there for shock absorbing. When the air suspension was at its best the ride was pretty good. Not very soft like the AC buses, firm but not harsh

[rahulskumar]

Originally Posted by lamborghini

Much much needed!

These buses are amongst the most polluting vehicles on the road spewing out black smoke at every opportunity!
I hope the new buses run on cleaner fuel before Mumbai becomes like Delhi.

Most of the BEST buses in Mumbai run on CNG. First step should be to convert all the buses to "cng+electric" and the technology should be transferred to Bangalore BMTC ( most polluting )

[GTO]

Recently took some firangi guests around town. One of the experiences was sitting in a BEST .

Climbed into a BEST after 2 decades, maybe closer to 3!! Bus was clean, driver was driving surprisingly well and the conductor was polite. Was pleasantly surprised.

[rikhav]

South bombay gets the newer buses
I travel very frequently by bus as i dont drive (surprising for a tbhp member) . I always get a mix bag. Drivers and conductors are sometimes very courteous and sometimes very Ill mannered for no reason at all
But with the traffic conditions and so much people they have to deal with , i never mind their behaviour unless situation goes out of hand. Arguments are mainly for change
Most of the AC bus staff are very well behaved.

[mvadg]

Originally Posted by rahulskumar

Most of the BEST buses in Mumbai run on CNG. First step should be to convert all the buses to "cng+electric" and the technology should be transferred to Bangalore BMTC ( most polluting )

Originally Posted by karlosdeville

Recently I had posted a picture sent to me of a Skoda trolley bus in Bombay. From what I understand (after browsing online) a trolley bus (elsewhere in the world too) is powered by overhead electric cables. Perhaps a more correct name for what you have posted would be an articulated bus. Subject to correction.

Originally Posted by karlosdeville

Its a Skoda trolley bus (you can see the overhead cables). Note this Skoda entity is separate from the car entity.

Originally Posted by predatorwheelz

Its definitely Calcutta. The bus is standing next to Jeevan Deep building, and you can see the "ep" of Deep in the extreme left corner of the pic. Next to it is Tata Centre, a prominent early landmark of Kolkata. FYI, CSTC had plenty of Double Decker buses and trolley buses (we used to call them "triple" decker). In my childhood, convincing dad to sit with me on the top deck of a trolley bus and peering out of the window as the bus toured the maidan area used to be a heavenly pastime.

Now all of them have been retired. One Double Decker has been bought over by Nicco Park (an amusement park in the city) and used for sightseeing. Another trolley bus has been converted by the State Govt into a mobile library.

The bus in the pic is probably a Bedford or an early Ashok Leyland. Until 15 years ago, most CSTC buses were Ashok Leylands (and tyres were Birla tyres). Only recently they've shifted to Tata.

Simplest solution as pointed out by many others on TBHP is a TROLLEY BUS
No need to spend billions of dollars on battery research *and* pollution free, silent!

[rikhav]

I don't think a trolley bus can be ever feasible in bombay
On most of the routes somewhere or the other the buses have to pass through small lanes

[lamborghini]

Originally Posted by rahulskumar

Most of the BEST buses in Mumbai run on CNG. First step should be to convert all the buses to "cng+electric" and the technology should be transferred to Bangalore BMTC ( most polluting )

I know they had implemented CNG buses, but I didn't know that most of them were converted to CNG.

Thank you for correcting me on this - Judging by the smoke they spew out, it is really hard to believe!