Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray flags off 24 more e-buses for island city

MUMBAI: The entire BEST fleet in the island city will now operate with electric technology, giving a boost to green energy in transportation. On BEST Day, chief minister Uddhav Thackeray flagged of 12m air-conditioned e-buses.
There are 198 e-buses in operations, and with the addition of 24, the fleet is now 222.
These buses can carry 35 passengers and 24 standees. Wheelchair access for the physically challenged, ITMS, based on GPS technology, panic buttons, air suspension and other state-of-the-art facilities will make it easier for the bus driver to operate without clutches and gears. It will also help reduce noise and air pollution.
BEST announced that 140 more such environment-friendly buses will be introduced by the month-end mainly on office routes in south Mumbai.
Environment minister Aaditya Thackeray, who was present at the event, tweeted, ‘We launched the next batch of fully electric buses, taking our fleet to 270 electric buses. BEST has set a target of 1,800 buses (45% of current fleet) to be electric by mid-2023. The buses are sound and emission free.”
He said, “Starting this week, the island city will have only electric BEST buses and many in the suburbs will be electric too.”
While praising BEST for environment protection, Uddhav said BEST employees provided public transport to the public during Covid. He also inaugurated the redeveloped Mahim depot in the presence of mayor Kishori Pednekar, and said, “This depot building will be of great convenience to staff and provide relief to passengers.” He said work was on to provided a single mobility ticketing system for BEST buses and local trains.
Around Rs 94 crore was transferred to around 1,005 retired BEST employees’ bank accounts. Manthan K MehtaMumbai: