Maharashtra govt flags off 24 more e-buses for Mumbai

On Brihanmumbai Electricity Supply and Transport (BEST) day, Mumbai Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray flagged off 12 air-conditioned E-buses while promoting green energy transportation in the city. At present, 198 e-buses are running, and by adding 24, the line is now 222. These e-buses can take 35 passengers and 24 standees. For the physically challenged, the buses have wheelchair access, ITMS, based on GPS, panic buttons, air suspension, and other amenities that would make it simpler for the bus driver to operate without gears and clutches. It would also benefit in reducing air and noise pollution. BEST revealed that 140 more e-buses would be launched by the end of this month, particularly, for the office routes in South Mumbai. Aaditya Thackeray told the media that BEST aims for 1,800 buses (45% of the present fleet) to be electric by 2023 mid-year. The buses are also sound and emission-free. Thackeray revealed that by this week's beginning, the island city would have just electric BEST buses, and various suburbs would have access to electric buses too. He said that during Covid, BEST workers provided public transport to everyone. Uddhav also inaugurated the Mahim depot redevelopment, along with Mayor Kishori Pednekar. He said the work was to provide a single mobility ticketing method for local trains and BEST buses. Image Source Also read: Bajaj to establish wholly-owned subsidiary for EV and hybrid vehicles