As part of its plan to revive the bus services, the transport undertaking had mooted the new minimum fare of Rs 5 for a distance up to five km against the earlier minimum fare of Rs 8 for a distance up to 2 km. (File)As the new reduced Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport’s (BEST) bus fares kicked in on Tuesday, senior officers said the civic-run body may have seen around one lakh more commuters as compared to Monday. The final figures for the ridership will be available on Wednesday.
The Maharashtra Transport Department on Monday had cleared a fare cut and reduced the minimum BEST bus fare to Rs 5. As part of its plan to revive the bus services, the transport undertaking had mooted the new minimum fare of Rs 5 for a distance up to five km against the earlier minimum fare of Rs 8 for a distance up to 2 km.
Vilash Baburao Dongre (54), a BEST bus conductor for 28 years, said the bus route number 111, which plies between Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus to Gateway of India, usually saw around 40-50 passengers per trip, but the number had swelled to 113 on Tuesday. He said that since the Rs 5 coin, now the minimum fare on the ride, was more easily available with passengers there were fewer arguments over change too.
Ramu Navi (58), a salesman, who has been taking buses on route number 130, from Churchgate to CSMT for four years, said he was in for a surprise during his bus ride on Tuesday. “When the conductor said Rs 5 for the ticket, I was surprised. I used to pay Rs 8 for the same distance earlier,” he
S K Khanna (75) said that earlier he paid Rs 20 for a share taxi from CSMT to Gateway of India. Sitting in BEST bus on Tuesday, he said, “Now I have to pay only Rs 5 for the same distance. At my age, every single penny matters.”
