Mumbai, February 13: City transport undertaking in Mumbai-- BEST has now decided to inch towards 'privatization'. BEST that caters to 30 lakh commuters daily has now decided to bring in private contractors to operate buses in Mumbai and the decision has upset workers. According to a recent report in TOI, BEST’s decision may lead to an indefinite strike from Thursday onwards as workers plan to protest over the 'privatization’ move.

BEST Workers' Union head Shashank Rao was quoted by TOI saying, “We oppose privatization of the BEST fleet and fear retrenchment of hundreds of drivers. Workers will voluntarily join our strike and buses will not operate from Thursday morning".

According to a TOI report, the BEST committee has cleared a proposal to wet-lease (when the contractor not only provides vehicles, but also the drivers) 450 buses for 7 years for Rs 612 crore. Reports inform that the first lot of the new buses will hit the road by May-end while the rest will be introduced by July-end. The TOI report further informs that out of all the buses, 200 will be AC mini, 200 non-AC mini and 50 midi. It must be noted that the BEST committee comprises a set of corporators from the ruling Shiv Sena-BJP combine.

Currently, BEST’s fleet in Mumbai is of 3,337 buses and around 150 buses are scrapped every year. It must be noted that the wet-leased buses will be driven, owned and maintained by private contractors. These contractors will also bear the fuel expenses and will be given four depots for parking. The report further states that BEST will only deploy conductors to collect revenue through ticket sales.

To recall, the BEST had floated tenders to source 150 buses, including 50 Mini AC buses, from private contractors in June 2016. According to details, the undertaking will pay rent to the contractor, who will provide a new bus.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Feb 13, 2018 10:39 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).