BEST bus faces mounting problems amid strikes, accidents, and leadership vacuum

The headless B.E.S.T undertaking has faced a barrage of problems since the beginning of the new year, with random flash strikes and freak mishaps affecting commuters. Trade unions and activists have raised alarms and called for government intervention to rectify its operations and appoint a full-time general manager.

B.E.S.T has been under severe criticism since the Kurla bus accident, which led to the death of eight pedestrians and injured over 40 people. On December 24, B.E.S.T general manager Anil Diggikar was transferred, and a new IAS officer, Harshdeep Kamble, was appointed. However, Kamble never took charge. After this, the government asked the BMC additional commissioners to handle the additional charge of the B.E.S.T undertaking, leaving the post of general manager vacant.

Since the new year, the undertaking has been mired in controversies, disruptions, and incidents. On December 31, a bus caught fire near Byculla, leading to a scare. Earlier last week, on Monday, wet lease staff at Pratiksha Nagar bus depot went on strike following misconduct towards a pregnant female employee. The strike affected the Pratiksha Nagar and Dharavi bus depots, disrupting over 200 bus services.

On Tuesday, the B.E.S.T Workers Union staged a protest to highlight the various issues faced by employees and the undertaking as a whole. They stressed the need to maintain a minimum self-owned fleet of 3,337 buses, as per a previous legal agreement with the undertaking. A large number of B.E.S.T workers attended the meeting held at Azad Maidan in south Mumbai.

On Thursday last week, Olectra bus drivers went on strike at the Kalakilla bus depot near Dharavi, demanding their salaries, which disrupted bus services. The drivers are outsourced by Maurya Company through Team Olectra. Following the strike, the B.E.S.T undertaking deployed self-owned buses on the affected routes to minimize inconvenience to passengers.

That same Thursday night, while repairing a bus owned by wet lease contractors M/s Hansa at Oshiwara bus depot, a vehicle caught fire due to a technical fault (overheating). “The fire in the vehicle was extinguished by the nearby fire station. No one was injured, but the vehicle was damaged,” a B.E.S.T spokesperson said.

On Friday, B.E.S.T wet lease staff working on Olectra Company buses went on strike at the Mumbai Central bus depot, leaving passengers stranded. The workers are demanding the disbursal of their salaries.

This week, on Wednesday, an unidentified biker died after being hit by a B.E.S.T undertaking bus in Gorai. According to the police, the wet lease bus operated by Evey Group on the A-277 route was traveling from Kandivali Railway Station (West) to Borivali Station (West). The rider of the two-wheeler lost control and skidded, coming in contact with the rear right tire of the bus. He suffered severe head injuries, was rushed to Bhagwati Hospital, and later shifted to Shatabdi Hospital in Kandivali, where he was declared dead at 12:30 pm by Dr. Kranti, the on-duty physician.

Two weeks ago, an RTI query by activist Anil Galgali revealed that, in the past five years, 834 accidents involving B.E.S.T buses had claimed 88 lives and resulted in monetary compensation of Rs 42.40 crore to victims and their families. Of these 834 accidents, B.E.S.T buses were involved in 352 cases, leading to 51 fatalities. Private contractors accounted for 482 accidents, resulting in 37 deaths. The years 2022-23 and 2023-24 saw the highest fatalities, with 21 deaths recorded in each period. “These statistics highlight the urgent need for the B.E.S.T administration and employees to prioritize safety to prevent such incidents in the future,” Galgali said.

“The B.E.S.T services need improvement. Over the years, workers have served Mumbaikars with self-respect. They have fought and won all their rights, overcoming the difficulties they faced. However, if B.E.S.T does not maintain its self-owned buses, thousands of workers will become unemployed, and the public transport service will be shut down. Therefore, B.E.S.T must maintain its fleet of 3,337 self-owned buses,” said Shashank Sharad Rao of the B.E.S.T Workers` Union.

“The B.E.S.T should have ensured proper safeguards and mechanisms to oversee the operation of wet lease operators before starting their operations,” said AV Shenoy of the Mumbai Vikas Samiti and Mumbai Mobility Forum.