Mumbai: BEST trims fares of bus passes, to benefit students, senior citizens

MUMBAI: The BEST on Wednesday announced new, simplified bus passes with lower fares for office-goers, students and senior citizens - with all plans now allowing travel in both AC and non-AC buses. Apart from offering convenience, the new plans also help commuters save up to 60% when compared to buying daily tickets, said BEST general manager Lokesh Chandra.
He said this has been done to make digital tickets more attractive for Mumbaikars. Updates have been made to the Super Saver Plans, student passes, unlimited rides passes and senior citizens passes. "Now, passengers can travel on both AC and Non-AC buses with any plan," he said.
Based on passenger feedback, BEST has also discontinued plans that have not seen enough adoption. The new plans will come into effect from Friday.
Super Saver Plans - The plans in the Rs 6 fare slab are cheaper. For example, one can purchase a Rs 219 pass for 28 days and get 60 trips, while one can make four trips each worth Rs 6 ticket in a day for just Rs 15 daily bus pass (which comes to less than Rs 4 per trip).
Unlimited Rides Passes - Price of the unlimited rides AC pass will be reduced from Rs 60 to Rs 50 for the single-day pass and from Rs 1,250 to Rs 750 for the monthly pass to encourage more passengers to avail its benefit.
Student Pass - A simple, single 30-day student pass will be introduced for private school and college students, offering 60 trips for just Rs 200 (introductory offer).
Senior Citizen Pass - Senior citizens will be entitled to a flat Rs.50 discount on all Super Saver Plans of 28 days and longer. The plans can be purchased both on the BEST Chalo app and the BEST Chalo card. Select the plan of your choice, enter your details and make an online payment via UPI, debit or credit card, net banking etc. to purchase the plan, Chandra added. BEST Chalo card users can get the new plans loaded on the card through the conductor and simply tap to pay for their travel.