Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) Undertaking has signed an agreement with PMI Electro Mobility Solutions, a Delhi-based firm to add 250 electric buses to its fleet in Mumbai. Each bus, 12 meters in length, is expected to be delivered in phases over the next three months.
This is BEST’s first move towards bus electrification after plans were announced in November’s Budget. The initiative is in line with the central government’s PM e-Drive scheme, which allocates 40 per cent of its Rs 10,900-crore expenditure on public transport till 2026 fiscal.
The new buses will be operated on a wet-lease model, where the buses will be owned by the company and the operating cost will be borne by the BEST undertaking.
The deal with PMI comes alongside another big contract with Olectra for 2,400 electric buses. The new buses are expected to help address operational challenges arising from the current bus shortage, which has led to temporary cancellations on some routes.
Vijay Singhal, the former general manager of BEST, approved both contracts as part of an effort to expand the fleet.
Fleet expansion drives
BEST also has agreements with other operators to increase its fleet. In which an agreement has been signed with Mateshwari Company for 200 CNG buses, 2 thousand 100 electric buses with Electra, Switch Mobility for 200 double decker electric buses and with Kasis Company for 700 double decker buses.
PMI’s electric buses will be supplied to BEST for the first time. These vehicles will travel up to 180 km on a single charge and will take 30-40 minutes to fully recharge.
PMI had operated its buses in Nagpur Public Transport and has now entered Mumbai.
Out of the total 2,940 buses of BEST (according to the latest data), 1,836 are operated by contractor companies. As the number of ships owned by BEST gradually decreased, the dependence on contractors increased.
The ongoing fleet expansion aims to meet the growing demand for public transport in Mumbai. Officials believe that these efforts will ensure smooth operations and better service availability for passengers in the coming months.