BEST gears up to secure its passengers, bus stops; appoints patrolling teams and plans to set up electronic surveillance in buses
BEST gears up to secure its passengers, bus stops; appoints patrolling teams and plans to set up electronic surveillance in buses
After the triple blasts on July 13, the Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) officials have decided to reinforce the safety of their 41 lakh-odd daily commuters.
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In the coming days, they will also install CCTVs in their 4,700 buses and will keep dedicated staff for monitoring the footage in a control room.
Sunil Shinde, chairman, BEST committee, said, "The step has been taken after the serial blasts in Mumbai last month, when one of our stops was damaged.u00a0
The strength of the flying squad will be increased, and the team will patrol the city the whole day and inspect bus stops and passengers at a venture."
He added that within three months, all the buses would be fitted with CCTVs to monitor any suspicious occurrences inside the vehicles.
A flying squad is a group of 2-3 BEST staffers, who roam the city and check bus stops and passengers with metal detectors.
There will be two cameras installed in a bus; one in the front and the other at the back, so all activities can be recorded for scrutiny.
Till now, nearly 1,500 buses have been equipped with the surveillance cameras. There are nearly 4,000 BEST bus stops in the city.
MSRTC too
Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) has also decided to ensure tighter security at its major bus stands across the state, post the July 13 bomb blasts at three locations in the city. The transport body now plans to install CCTV cameras at 40 stops.
4,700
Number of buses in the BEST's fleet in the city
8,000
The number of drivers and conductors on BEST's payroll
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