A former traffic department official with the BEST has alleged that the undertaking's air-conditioned buses could be 'Corona spreaders' as many of them belong to private contractors who usually have no record of sanitisation protocols. Also, on some routes, these AC buses run without conductors and there is no monitoring of social distancing norms.

Opening a can of worms, Prashant Sane, a former traffic officer now a lawyer, has alleged that the BEST has been playing with the lives of commuters and staff. "When it has been established that the use of air-conditioners can be harmful amid COVID-19, the BEST undertaking has been running AC buses on several routes," Sane said, adding that he had already complained about this to the Chief Minister's Office but in vain.