Mumbai: Life span of BEST buses to be cut from 15 to 12 years

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