Cool’ buses hit Mumbai’s roads

The new, red bus is an upgraded version of the humble single decker and a clone of the inter-city luxury buses. Each bus can accommodate 45 passengers on comfortable, cushioned seats in its spacious interiors shielded by thick tinted glasses and curtains and cooled by individual fans and a heavy air conditioning plant.

With its first batch of four buses which are scheduled to hit the roads tomorrow morning, BEST becomes the first metro undertaking in the country to introduce an air-conditioned busservice. “We’re saving passengers from the heat, dust, pollution and noise of the city,” said BEST’s General Manager Vinay Mohan Lal. The BEST is willing to convert a whopping 50 per cent of its fleet strength to air-conditioned buses if the venture is a success, he said.

Intoducing AC buses is the first step taken by the undertaking to beef up passenger transportation and reduce traffic congestion. By transporting car owners who otherwise drive down to South Mumbai, BEST hopes that each bus takes at least 30 motor cars off the roads daily.

The BEST is to introduce 46 such buses on the roads in the next three months. The first 25 buses will be introduced in six weeks and the remaining 21 in the next one and a half months.

The AC bus route is from the Backbay bus depot to the Oshiwara depot. It will stop at the following places: World Trade Centre, President Hotel, Captain Prakash Pethe Marg, Jagganthrao Marg, Yashwantrao Chavan auditorium, Madam Cama Road, Karamveer Bhaurao Patil Marg, Hutatma Chowk,Veer Nariman road, Ahilyabai Holkar chowk, Maharishi Karve Road, Pandit Paluskar Road, Sitaram Patkar Chowk, Kemps Corner, Gopalrao Deshmukh Road, Bhulabhai Desai Road, Lala Lajpatrai Chowk, Dr Annie Beasant Road, Prabhadevi, Veer Savarkar Road, Sitaladevi temple Road, Lady Jamshedji marg, Mahim Causeway, Swami Vivekananda Road, Andheri station, Four Bungalows, Swami Samarth Nagar and Oshiwara bus depot.