BEST ticket sales dip by 26%, says panel member

  • | Friday | 16th November, 2018

MUMBAI: Daily BEST bus ticket sales have dropped by 26% in the past one year, committee member Suhas Samant ( Shiv Sena ) told the budget meeting on Friday. It dipped to Rs 2.2 crore in 2018,” he told panel members. He demanded a probe into why BEST, given Rs 11 crore by the state to launch Tejaswini women buses, did not launch the project. “The management should explore options to procure Rs 22 crore so that it can disburse bonus at the earliest,” he said. “Average sales of daily monthly passes also dropped from 384 in June 2017 to 266 in the same month this year.

MUMBAI: Daily BEST bus ticket sales have dropped by 26% in the past one year, committee member Suhas Samant ( Shiv Sena ) told the budget meeting on Friday. The transport undertaking tried to woo more commuters, but their numbers have dipped from 42 lakh a day a few years back to 26 lakh. Samant also said ticketless travel was rampant but BEST officials denied it. The discussions were part of the budget, cleared by the panel, initially showing a Rs 720 crore deficit for 2019-20 but later revised to Rs 769 crore.“In June 2017, average daily ticket sales were around Rs 3 crore. It dipped to Rs 2.2 crore in 2018,” he told panel members. “Average sales of daily monthly passes also dropped from 384 in June 2017 to 266 in the same month this year. Seasonal passes also came down from 1,312 to 1247, daily per trip earnings dipped from Rs 1,600 to Rs 1,000, and there was reduction of 450 buses and 41 routes in the past one year,” he said. He said that despite cutting staff (2,500 retired in the past few years and there was a freeze on recruitment), running costs of buses had increased from Rs 100 per bus per km to Rs 110.Daily trips reduced from around 61,000 to 59,000, he said. “With ticket-checking inspectors missing at most stops, ticketless travel has increased,” he said. But a senior BEST official said most commuters buy tickets and the number of ticketless travellers was not huge.Sunil Ganacharya (BJP) said with 300km road and bridge work in Mumbai, bus speed will slow down, which will lead to more losses. He demanded a probe into why BEST, given Rs 11 crore by the state to launch Tejaswini women buses, did not launch the project. “Wet leasing of buses has been delayed and the administration is responsible. There is no clarity on cash flow, while the nutritional surcharge which we collect for state government has not been accounted for in the budget,” he said.Rajesh Kusale (Sena) demanded free bus travel. “When we pay BMC, the state and Central government taxes, they should let citizens to travel free,” he said. He said BEST and BMC budgets must be merged to curtail losses.He sought more ladies specials during peak hours, and said commuters should be permitted to wave and stop buses. He demanded dedicated corridors and felt the odd-even numberplate system must be introduced for private cars to reduce road congestion. Anil Kokil (Sena) said that the octroi land at five checkposts must be used as terminals for private tourist buses coming to Mumbai. “Passengers must alight there and take BEST buses or cabs in the city,” he said.He demanded a probe into the Rs 4.8 crore purchase of spare parts for AC buses, which were taken off in April last year. “What happened to the spare parts, did we lose such a huge sum?” he asked. He asked why 1,500 electricity poles had not yet arrived, as it could inconvenience citizens. He said BEST must give power connections to Food on Wheel stalls in the island city to prevent power theft. “There is a need for more buses near the monorail, Metro and suburban railway stations, with our officials publicising routes on microphones. This will draw more passengers and bring in revenue,” he added.Demand to merge BEST, BMC budgetsWith the state assembly beginning next week, BEST panel members, during the budget meeting on Friday, demanded merging of BEST and BMC budgets.“When the civic house approved the merger and the proposal was cleared by the BEST committee, why has the administration delayed sending the files to the urban development department at Mantralaya?” asked BEST panel member Anil Kokil. He said the administration was delaying the process as it was nearly two years since the merger decision was taken.Sunil Ganacharya (BJP) said if the budgets were merged, it would help bail out the cash-strapped undertaking. He questioned the BEST administration for not disbursing Diwali bonus to employees despite assurances. “The management should explore options to procure Rs 22 crore so that it can disburse bonus at the earliest,” he said. Rajesh Kusale (Shiv Sena) said the municipal commissioner should take the initiative to ensure the two budgets are merged in the larger interest of 40,000 BEST workers.

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