Reduced fares of BEST buses in Mumbai to come into effect from Tuesday

In a good news for thousands of Mumbaikars, the reduced fares of BEST buses plying in Mumbai are set to come into effect from Tuesday. It may be recalled that Mumbai Metropolitan Region Transport Authority (MMRTA) had on Wednesday approved the fare restructuring proposed by the Brihanmumbai Electricity Supply and Transport (BEST) for the public buses plying in Mumbai.

As per the revised fare structure, there will be only four pricing slabs: 0-5 km, 5-10 km, 10-15 km, and over 15 km.

The minimum non-AC bus fare has been brought down from Rs 8 to Rs 5 for the first five kilometres and the maximum fare for non-AC buses has been fixed at Rs 20.

The minimum AC bus fare has been reduced to Rs 6 from Rs 20, while maximum fare has been capped at Rs 25. From Tuesday, the fare slab for non-AC (regular) buses will be Rs 5, 10, 15 and Rs 20, while it will be Rs 6, 13, 19 and Rs 25 for air-conditioned buses.

BEST has a fleet of 3,337 buses, which ply on 483 routes in Mumbai, Thane, and Navi Mumbai. Interestingly, BEST faces a loss of Rs 2 crore per day of operation. BEST is hoping that the slicing down of fare will boost its income by increasing the number of passengers, which has gone down from 45 lakh a day to 27 lakh.