After going back and forth on the issue of reducing the minimum fare for buses, the BEST Committee has finally decided to make the base charge Rs 5. The proposal will first be sent to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) and then to the Metropolitan Regional Transport Authority for approvals, a process that would take less than a month. As per the new fare structure, price of tickets for regular buses will range from Rs 5 to Rs 20 and for AC buses from Rs 6 to Rs 25.

Speaking at the committee meeting held on Tuesday, BJP leader and BEST committee member Sunil Ganacharya said, "The BEST must think from a long-term perspective. The proposal has been brought in a hurry, without any calculation. If the number of buses goes up, so will the passengers, but with fares coming down, the total revenue might remain the same. Every bus will require staff and parking space, and as per my information, there is no space to park beyond 4,000 buses at 26 depots. The BMC has asked the BEST to get 7,000 buses in six months. How will the BEST manage that? They had been giving us long-winding reports on how the fares could not be lowered when such proposals were brought in earlier. Now this sudden turn of events has surprised me."