For wheelchair commuters, ride to be smooth on BEST’s wet-leased buses

MUMBAI: The BEST’s decision to bring in private contractors to operate red buses in Mumbai will ensure that wheelchair bound passengers have a smooth ride.
The transport undertaking is procuring on wet lease 50 non-AC midi buses and according to the ‘bus body code’, the vehicles need to compulsorily have wheelchair space, a senior official said.
Also, under the wet lease contract, the BEST will have no liability for bus breakdowns, accidents or traffic violations committed by drivers, nor pay for any accident claims/mishaps or court cases involving drivers.This could save the transport body nearly Rs 100 crore in the coming months, the official added.

The driver will work under the administrative control of the officers of the undertaking and as per schedules prescribed by the undertaking. The contractor will have to pay a security deposit of over a Rs 1crore, which will be deducted for any penalty imposed. For example, if contractor fails to make the bus available, the undertaking shall be at the liberty to levy a penalty of Rs 5,000 per day per bus .
“We have issued specifications to the private contractors. They will have to get all buses on brand new chassis. These will be buses which have not been used for commercial purpose earlier,” he said, adding that the buses will be spic and span. The BEST has a ridership of 30 lakh commuters daily.
As per the contract, a copy of which is with TOI, the AC mini buses will have to be at the assigned depot 20 minutes before its first trip. Also, the buses on lease will be available to BEST only from Monday to Saturday. “The buses will not ply on Sundays and holidays as on those days, the ridership is lesser,” said an official.
The BEST currently has 3,337 buses and expects to increase it to 3,787 by July. Another 800 buses will be introduced through wet leasing in a second tender to be floated in a few months. Vishal Joshi, a commuter, said, “We are glad that AC buses will be back. It was disappointing that the earlier ones were taken off the roads in April last year.”