Mumbai's iconic double-decker buses all set for comeback in electric avatar

Mumbais iconic doubledecker buses are set for a comeback in an electric avatar with a Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport Undertaking official stating that their numbers will match the highs of the 1990s by next yearThe financial capital is the last urban area where these doubledeckers are still running though they were once found in robust numbers in Kolkata Bengaluru Delhi Thiruvananthapuram and Chennai among other cities officials saidAccording to officials BEST had the highest number of double decker buses in 1990 before the figures started dipping post 1995 By 2006 the citys premier road transport utility had 225 doubledeckers as losses began to mount and operating costs went northThere are some 50 left in Mumbai most of these plying in the southern part of the city and some being used to give heritage tours to tourists This existing batch was introduced in 2007 and would soon go off the roads at the end of their codal operational life officials addedAlso readUnion Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari in blue kurta launches Indiarsquos first electric doubledecker bus in Mumbai on ThursdayA new electric airconditioned doubledecker bus was launched last week a first for India with BEST general manager Lokesh Chandra telling PTI it would hit the roads from SeptemberTwo bus contractors will give BEST 900 electric doubledeckers by the end of 2023 In the 1990s we had over 900 doubledecker buses and we are soon going to go back to the same situation by the end of next year Chandra saidThese new buses will give people a comfortable ride and also improve the ridership of BEST to around 40 lakh per day from the current 33 lakh passengers per day he addedMumbai witnesses heavy traffic and doubledeckers at 105 metres can carry 100 passengers against normal buses that ferry about 50 These doubledeckers will help us regain carrying capacity of 15 lakh seats per day which were lost due to introduction of smaller buses the BEST GM explainedThe new electric AC doubledecker bus has a twin doorstairway arrangement bigger windows bucket seats CCTVs charging points for phones and laptops and public address systemsAs per SN Pendsays book The BEST Story doubledeckers were first introduced on the metropolis roads in 1937 some 11 years after fossilfuel vehicles of the undertaking hit the roadsDoubledecker buses were introduced in 1937 in order to cope better with the growing traffic The singledeck vehicle carried 36 passengers the doubledecker could take as many as 58 This and its sheer size and look made the double decker popular as soon as it was put on the roads as per an excerpt from the bookThe doubledeckers over the years underwent some design changes starting with ones having a single blink cabin and sloping engine cover that looked like clones of Londons RoutemasterIn 1967 BEST introduced articulated doubledecker buses for the first time in the country as per Pendsays bookCommenting on the decline in the number of these iconic vehicles Sunil Ganacharya former member of BEST Committee the policy making body of the Undertaking told PTI operating costs were a major factor as one needed to deploy two conductors and also due to higher consumption of dieselMoreover manufacturers had stopped production of these doubledecker buses which was also a reason for the decline in numbers he addedFor many commuters a ride on the doubledecker bus was among their best memories of the financial capitalPeople used to rush to the upper deck to get the front seat for the breeze I used to travel on C route number 123 from Churchgate to Chowpatty until the service was discontinued on the stretch The view of Marine Drive Chowpatty Malabar Hill was such a pleasure recalled AV Shenoy a prominent transport activist now in his 80sHowever the new electric buses are coming as part of a wet lease model in which contractors take care of the cost of crew and maintenance as indicated by BEST GM Chandra at the launch of the new doubledecker last weekHe said the operating cost of their existing buses is Rs 150 per kilometer while the same of the double decker and single decker ebuses on wet lease model cost Rs 56 and Rs 46 respectively which is one third of the totalAccording to officials doubledecker buses have a carrying capacity of 78 passengers while that of singledeck electric buses is 54 passengersApart from this a double decker brings revenue of Rs 79 per kilometre much higher than Rs 43 for single decker busesHowever Ganacharya had a word of caution for the wet lease modelIt may have given a new lease of life to doubledeckers but it is not clear the model is sustainable We have witnessed strikes by operators of wet leased buses and their maintenance is also poor the former BEST Committee member saidThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole 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