BEST has acquired India’s first AC e-double decker bus, which will begin service on the Bandra-Kurla route this week

The Switch Mobility manufacturer delivered the country’s first AC electric double decker bus to the Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) Undertaking on Monday. Following approval from the regional transport office, this will begin operations on the Bandra-Kurla route this week.

“Initially, we will run this AC e-double decker bus on the Bandra-BKC-Kurla route. We will install tap-in, tap-out machines for ticketing with the minimum fare being kept at ₹6,” BEST general manger Lokesh Chandra said.\

Switch Mobility, the manufacturer, will deliver five buses in February and another 20 in March. These vehicles will also ply on other popular routes such as Churchgate-CSMT, Santacruz-Vakola, and Andheri (East)-Ghatkopar. BEST has plans to procure 900 such buses in the coming months.

Since the prototype’s debut in August 2022, the project has requested a few changes, including lowering the steepness of the front side staircase, adding seats to the first row, and installing a metal bracket in the upper deck to protect the front window pane from damage.

The transportation company hopes to increase its daily passenger count from 35 lakh to 40 lakh. However, the number of buses on its fleet (approximately 3,300) has decreased by 265 since a wet lease operator’s contract was terminated a few weeks ago. In fact, as a stopgap measure, BEST has partnered with a private party to operate diesel-powered Chalo buses.

In case of another contractor, there have been back-to-back incidents of a particular make of CNG non-AC bus burning down completely. BEST officials said they had asked the manufacturer to look into the matter. The whole idea of these smaller wet lease buses was to cater to the narrowest of roads in the city.

A review of BEST, HT’s order book reveals that the project is struggling to meet the deadline for scheduled additions. For example, it was expecting 200 AC e-double decker buses from Switch Mobility to arrive in October, despite the fact that the contract stated that delivery would begin in February. The obvious cause of the delay is the new rules imposed by the Automotive Research Association of India.

Another automobile manufacturer produces 700 AC e-double decker buses. The manufacturer has informed BEST that they are working on permissions and certification at the same time.

Then there is the large order of 2,100 e-buses, which is caught in a legal tangle. “We have been told that they (the manufacturer) are preparing the prototype and it will be made available to us soon,” an official said.