BEST commuters to pay more from April 1

The hike was opposed by Congress and BJP corporators.

Commuters on the Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) undertaking’s buses will pay more from April 1. The Shiv Sena-controlled Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s (BMC) general body on Saturday evening finally approved a proposal to hike fares for longer routes, and for season tickets. The municipal general body on Saturday approved a hike ranging from Rs 1 to Rs 12 for travel beyond six kilometres and a hike ranging from Rs 50 to Rs 220 for monthly passes.

The proposal had been approved earlier by the BEST committee in November last year, citing continuing losses. The proposal was then sent to BMC for final approval. The fare for a six-km journey, which was Rs 14 earlier, has been increased to Rs 15; fare for an 8-km journey has been increased from Rs 16 to Rs 18. The daily bus pass for the entire city will cost Rs 90 instead of the current Rs 70. The fare for a pass for the suburbs has been increased from Rs 50 to Rs 60 and for the island city it has been increased from Rs 40 to Rs 50.

The monthly non-AC bus pass has been increased from Rs 880 to Rs 1,100 and the school bus pass has been increased from Rs 150 to Rs 200, passes for high school students will cost Rs 250 while passes for college students will cost Rs 350 a month.

The hike was opposed by Congress and BJP corporators. Meanwhile, the BEST administration stated that if financial conditions improve, then this would be a temporary increase that could be rolled back. “The increase in bus fares and passes is temporary.” said a senior BEST official.

Meanwhile, the BEST management will restructure 200 existing routes operating at losses of 40 per cent or more. Following a review of the operations of the BEST undertaking in November 2017, the BMC had held the administration responsible for irregularities and mismanagement. While the BEST is seeking financial assistance from the BMC, the latter has warned the undertaking to implement reforms to reduce accumulating losses.

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