Mumbai: Starting February 1, commuters will have to cough up more for bus rides, with the BEST implementing a fare hike in the range of Rs 1 to Rs 10. BEST officials have, in a press release, put out the fare chart that will be coming into effect this Sunday, asking their 40 lakh-odd passengers to take note of the same.
Unfortunately, this is only the first of two hikes with the second one to be implemented on April 1 following the BMC’s refusal to provide BEST with financial relief a week ago. BEST committee member Kedar Hombalkar expressed concern that two fare hikes in a row would seal the fate of BEST. “It’s one of the most challenging times for the undertaking. Everything is going to be at stake as commuters will hold a grudge considering April onward they will pay a minimum of Rs 8, up from Rs 6,” he said.
BEST has been seeing a dwindling number of commuters and Mr Hombalkar said the consecutive fare hikes would serve as the final nail in the coffin. “We have gone down from 40 lakh to 33 lakh passengers and these hikes are being implemented without any value addition to the services. Instead, we are seeing the frequency of buses go from bad to worse since the fleet has been cut from 4,300 to 3,600 buses and 60 per cent of our airconditioned buses are catching rust as they are too expensive to maintain,” he added.
