BEST gets nod from industrial court for 80 electric buses

MUMBAI: The industrial court has paved the way for the launch of 80 electric buses in Mumbai although procurement of the smaller-mini and midi-buses may get delayed indefinitely, BEST sources said on Thursday.
Currently, the city has just six electric buses procured with funds from BMC. The BEST's plans to wet-lease 80 more electric buses with subsidy from the Centre had been in limbo for three months.

"We are glad that the court has given the directive in our favour. We can issue work orders to procure the electric buses on wet lease," said a senior official.

The court, however, gave a separate directive for 200 non-AC mini, 200 AC mini and 50 midi buses. While court has allowed BEST to hire these buses from private agencies, it has not allowed the BEST to hire 'drivers and maintenance staff.' In case of electric buses, around 25% are expected to hit city roads by July-August, sources said.