BEST OF BOMBAY

Best for Mumbai?

Mumbai saw its first bus run on 15 July 1926. From being looked upon as transport for the convenience of upper middle class to being a pivotal means of public transport, it has come a long way. When the Bombay Electric Supply and Transport Company was municipalized in 1947, and later became BEST Undertaking, there were 242 buses in operation on 23 routes and these buses carried 2.38 lakh passengers per day. As of 2013, the BEST runs a total of 4,680 buses, ferrying 5 million passengers over 365 routes, and has a workforce strength of 38,000, which includes 22,000 bus drivers and conductors (this comes to an average of 11.2 employees per bus).

An American Company put the idea for mass transport forth in 1865. It didn’t materialize due to the prevalent economic depression. In 1870, the opening of the Suez Canal brought Mumbai closer to England-15 days by sea-and put Mumbai port as an important place on global sea routes. Consequently, Mumbai was given a local self-government and a municipal corporation came into being. In 1873, the Bombay Tramway Company signed The Bombay Tramways Act with the municipality of Bombay Presidency and was licensed to run a horsecart tramway. In 1905, the Bombay Electric Supply and Tramways Company Limited bought the company. In a bid to introduce electric tramcars, the company applied to set up a supplementary business, and was awarded the right to power generation and distribution. After the first electric tram car debuted on Mumbai roads, in 1907, power started being purchased from the Tatas and by 1925, all of it was being outsourced from the Tatas. It’s interesting to note that till today, the BEST’s power distribution leg (it distributes to over 10 lakh customers) supports the loss-making transport leg. The transport leg incurs losses worth 700 crore annually.

The first bus service, in 1926, ran from Afghan Church to Crawford Market. The fleet comprised of twenty-four vehicles. The bus fare was nearly four times for the same journey by tram. The expensive fare proved to be a deterrent, and the coming together of the Civil Disobedience Movement and the Great Depression in 1930 proved to be a great crisis. In order to remain afloat, it reduced ticket rates that made it accessible as means of public transport, and the extended services to the northern portions of the city. This also marked the degradation of the tram service.

The Second World War, in 1939, brought with it shortage of tyres and the rationing of petrol. This burdened the bus service as many switched from motorcars to cheaper transport, on one hand, and the rising costs of maintenance, on the other. The solution devised lead to the design of a double-decker bus modeled on the British Routemaster. It increased the capacity from 38 to 60.

When the Corporation took over the Company in 1947, there were 242 buses that carried 2.38 lakh passengers per day. As the company grew post-independence, it increased its fleet from 242 to 582 buses over the next decade. In 1949, it took over the Bandra Bus Company, which used to ply buses in the suburbs. The company launched its services in the eastern suburbs in 1955. That year, the Undertaking and private operators went to court, with the BEST asking for a complete closure of the private companies. The case dragged on for four years before the Supreme Court of India granted the organisation a complete monopoly over bus services in the Greater Bombay area. In 1964, due to high operational costs and poor public support, its long-running tram services were terminated.

This probably marked a turning point in the history of the organization; a monopoly seldom works efficiently, and it should’ve resulted in intricate and inter-linked public transport service for Mumbai. The economies of scale have pushed it to the end of its tether – on one hand major routes remain overcrowded at particular times of the day, and on the other, the company routinely cancels routes that are not “popular”. And that is the irony. Adequate research to identify high commuter-density areas will help plan increased frequency of buses at particular times of the day and also avoid running of empty buses that leads to a loss-making tendency. For routes with fewer commuters, smaller buses or tempo travellers can be utilized; the same idea can also be adopted for narrow roads instead of increasing traffic woes by plying huge buses.

In a bid to make public transport accessible to office-goers, AC bus services were introduced. Currently, the BEST has 290 AC buses on 28 designated routes, which are incurring heavy losses. Between 2007 and 2009, BEST procured 274 Cerita buses which have been assembled in Mohali, (as opposed to claims by BEST that said they were King Long buses, imported from China), at a cost of Rs 150 crore. However, in September 2013, distraught by the persistent breakdown rate (30%) and high maintenance cost, the BEST decided to phase out its AC buses7. In two years of its service 4037 incidents of breakdown were reported. Hence, in July 2014, when the Union Budget allocated 426 brand new buses under JNNURM and speedy delivery of new air-conditioned buses to join the BEST fleet, it resonates the lack of planning and organization. 4

Recently, a plan prepared by the MTSU (Mumbai Transportation Support Unit) has proposed a point-to-point bus service from commercial hubs like Nariman Point and Bandra-Kurla Complex to the suburbs. Experts have lauded the move and point out that the service will work only if the timings are rationalized with respect to office hours, number of trips and frequency of the buses can keep up with rush-hour traffic. Also, the return journey is most likely to run empty buses; a solution can be reduced fares to attract more people. Another suggestion is to run shuttle services between business districts like Nariman Point, Lower Parel, BKC, Andheri within the city instead of the buses returning to their bases. If the service is consistent and backed by public, it could lead to the BRTS being implemented, which will in turn create Dedicated Bus Lanes and further enhance speed and efficiency. Dedicated public bus transport to the airport can also ply on this route.

While the implementation of these systems lies in the hands of a few bureaucrats, the success lies in the execution of the same by some 22,000 bus drivers and conductors; and they don’t enjoy the popularity that Mr. Narendra Modi enjoys or for that matter, the kind of fan-following Mr. Rahul Gandhi has. O P Gupta, general manager, BEST, said their helpline receives an average 300 complaints from the public every month, a majority concerning buses stopping some distance away from the bus stop, and skipping stops on occasion as well. Many complaints also pertained to rude behaviour by conductors. In 2013, BEST reported 29 accidents in the city, in which 32 people lost their lives. In 2012, BEST had recorded 30 fatal accidents, while the figures were 26 and 49 in 2011 and 2010 respectively.

In August this year alone more than three separate incidents involving drunk-driving 1, physical abuse 2 and rash-driving 3 by BEST drivers have been reported. The public transport utility has asked the traffic police to follow a stringent policy towards BEST drivers, who often jump signals and defy traffic rules. The policy6 also includes traffic personnel becoming a part of the training programs conducted by the BEST. So, what drives employees up the wall, when on one hand the Undertaking has a well-equipped Training Center for the traffic staff and designed program to re-educate them on such relevant topics as fuel conservation, safety measures, behaviour with the public etc? One is that the checking standards date back to 1980s and haven’t been revised ever since or is it a simple case of non-execution of these checking systems? A flash strike in April 2014, was called by drivers and conductors of the BEST to raise their voice against the new ‘Trapeze Austrics’ scheduling system, which lead to 12 to 15-hour duty cycles without much rest. This has lead to an overworked staff that has predictably vented their stress on commuters or in the case of one driver who poisoned himself and attacked two colleagues with a sickle.

Overcrowding in buses has compromised the safety of female commuters. A Hindustan Times-Akshara survey8, on women’s perception of safety in public spaces, maximum instances of harassment were reported on buses and bus stops. Of the 4,255 women interviewed, 46% said that they had been sexually harassed inside buses, while 23% said they had faced it at bus stops. Repeated instances of bottom pinching, fondling, lewd comments and vulgar gestures were reported. More often than not, lack of space is given as an excuse. Out of 4,500 buses, 3,800 are equipped with CCTV cameras; however, about 1600 out of the 3800 odd buses do not have a Digital Video Recorder (DVR), which makes them redundant. Introduction of ‘Ladies First’ buses at various points where the ladies are given priority while boarding the bus at the starting point and separate entrances for men and women are viable solutions but more importantly, a stringent system to process complaints will help achieve zero-tolerance and a safer environment for public transport.

In, 2007, older bus stops made way for new, minimalist stainless steel ones, backed by the MTSU, at roughly 10 times the cost of the old ones10. The final design comprised of eight-inch wide perforated steel slabs-the holes allowed easy passage of water and the narrow benches would discourage people from sleeping on them. But planning doesn’t end on infrastructural level. Bus stops have to be clear of obstruction and unauthorized parking and stopping. Parking around the bus stop means during off-peak hours, the deserted bus stops have no relation to the street and make them susceptible to harassment and misuse.

Nevertheless, bus drivers and conductors have come in for praise in the media for their service during the 2005 Mumbai floods9, when they ensured that all the stranded passengers were dropped safely to their respective destinations. Some 674 of BESTs 3,391 busses were damaged in the deluge, but adequate spares ensured that the buses were brought on the roads within a few hours.

Recently, a night bus service after 1 am was started on three routes, to facilitate those who missed the last local train. Apart from this, commuters will be allowed to travel on BEST staff buses that ply from every bus depot to the nearest railway stations and the various BEST staff quarters across the city. The move might prove to be popular in a thriving nightlife as that of Mumbai. A specially designed bus called the ‘Fort Pheri’ was launched in 2011. It is implemented from the Fort Management Proposal from the Fort Management Plan. It introduced 24 low floor Star buses that operate on a ring route in the Fort area, shuttling from CST and Churchgate stations. The buses are wheelchair-friendly and instead of modern digital printing, these buses have been hand-painted. The success of this project should propel the organization to induct ring routes in other parts of the city, to carry commuters from residential areas to railway stations, for instance, especially in the suburbs, which face considerable neglect. Also, east-west connectivity has been ignored in the endeavour to link the northern and southern parts of Mumbai.

While infrastructure projects such as the Metro and Monorail are being built, solutions by transport activists and city planners to improve systems already in place have fallen on the deaf ears of the company. Suggestions to plan upcoming infrastructure projects to accommodate dedicated bus routes and cyclical schedules for suburban trains to help ease pressure on the road as well as rail services have not been paid heed to. BRTS has been implemented in cities like Chandigarh, Ahmedabad and Delhi and it would help to take notes on their models. The public-private partnership (PPP) in Delhi, for instance, took stock of the ‘killer’ Blueline bus service in the city and replaced private Blueline buses with a public-private partnership that means half the buses will be run the Delhi Transport Corporation and half by private players. The routes were auctioned and fares collected by Delhi Integrated Multi-Modal Transit System Ltd are shared with bus owners on per-kilometer and hours basis, with deductions for delays.

For BEST, a company that started as a private company, that was municipalized and reveled in monopoly for about 50 years, a system like the one in Delhi, makes sense. So, while the BEST Undertaking even contemplates a merger with the Thane Municipal Transport5 for better connectivity in the 4,355 square kilometers of the MMR, it might want to rethink its strategies and take cue from its current scenario, which is bright only through a rose-tinted windshield.

Sources:

http://www.bestundertaking.com

Mumbai Reader, 2013, ‘Fort Circulator Proposal’

Reference articles:

1 http://www.mumbaimirror.com/mumbai/crime/BEST-starts-crackdown-after- driver-found-drunk-at-wheel/articleshow/41972676.cms

2 http://www.mumbaimirror.com/mumbai/crime/Denied-regular-conductor-BEST-driver-attacks-two-colleagues-with-a-sickle/articleshow/41818181.cms

3 http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/BEST-probes-to-find-cause-of-bus-accident-at-Sion/articleshow/38540506.cms

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/Bus-catches-fire-another-runs-over-man/articleshow/40352154.cms

http://www.mumbaimirror.com/mumbai/crime/Bus-hits-aged-couple-in-Vashi-man-dies-on-the-spot/articleshow/30663887.cms

4 http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/426-new-buses-likely-for-BEST-fleet/articleshow/38151003.cms

5 http://www.mumbaimirror.com/mumbai/others/BEST-TMT-in-talks-for-merger-of-bus-services-NMMT-rules-out-amalgamation/articleshow/38698398.cms

6 http://www.mumbaimirror.com/mumbai/others/BEST-for-spot-action-to-curb-rash-driving/articleshow/39783302.cms