The last non AC double-decker Brihanmumbai Electricity Supply and Transport (BEST) bus left Marol Depot on Friday, September 15, 2023. Mumbai's iconic red double-decker buses have been an integral part of the city's public transport system for more than 80 years.
Watch video here:
The open-deck double-decker buses which were used as sightseeing buses for tourists since the 1990s, will also be discontinued in the first week of October.
A BEST spokesperson said, "Currently, just seven double-decker buses, including three open-deck buses are left in the BEST's fleet. As these vehicles are completing 15 years of their codal life, the double-decker buses will forever go off roads from September 15, while the open-deck buses will be pulled out on October 5."
In the beginning of the 1990s, the BEST had a fleet of around 900 double-decker buses, but the number gradually declined after the mid-90s.
The BEST administration stopped inducting double-decker buses after 2008 citing high operation costs. The BEST since February this year started replacing these iconic buses with leased battery-run red and black double-decker buses and so far, about 25 such buses have been introduced.
Netizens Bid Adieu To Double-Decker
As the video of the last non-AC double-decker emerged, many netizens bid farewell to the last bus with a heavy heart. Here are some of the posts on the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter:
Commuters Body Write To BEST
As these buses are going off the roads forever, commuter groups and bus enthusiasts have urged BEST to preserve at least two of these iconic vehicles at its Anik depot-based museum and have written to the Maharashtra chief minister, tourism minister and the BEST administration.
Some commuters, however, argue that though the battery-run buses are comfortable, they lack the charm of their older counterparts.
To prevent the double-decker buses from going under the hammer, a commuters' body 'Aapli BEST Aaplyasathi' has written to Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, BMC Chief Iqbal Singh Chahal and Deputy Chief Ministers Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar and the BEST's general manager urging them to stop these buses from meeting the same fate as trams, which were the first mode of public transport in the city. However, their President Rupesh Shelatkar said that so far no politician or bureaucrat has responded to their letters.
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