Reduced fares of BEST buses, intercity AC buses to Pune to come into effect next week
The reduced fares for intercity Shivneri & Ashvamedh buses will come into effect from July 8, while the price cut for BEST bus fares is likely to be implemented between July 8-14
In welcome news for commuters, the fares of BEST buses plying in the city and intercity AC buses to Pune are set to reduce by next week.
Reduction in BEST bus fares approved
The fare restructuring proposed by the Brihanmumbai Electricity Supply and Transport (BEST) for the city’s public buses was approved by Mumbai Metropolitan Region Transport Authority (MMRTA) on Wednesday.
The process to implement the new fares is expected to complete in the next few days and the revised fares are expected to be rolled out next week.
The new pricing structure will have just four pricing slabs: 0-5 km, 5-10 km, 10-15 km, and over 15 km.
Further, the minimum non-AC bus fare has been reduced from Rs 8 to Rs 5 for the first five kilometres, while maximum fare for this class has been capped at Rs 20.
The minimum AC bus fare has been brought down from Rs 20 to Rs 6 and maximum fare has been kept at Rs 25.
Once implemented, the fare slab for non-AC (regular) buses will be Rs 5, 10, 15 and Rs 20, while it will be Rs 6, 13, 19 and Rs 25 for air-conditioned buses.
With a fleet of 3,337 buses, BEST operates 483 routes in Mumbai, Thane, and Navi Mumbai. However, it incurs a loss of Rs 2 crore per day of operation. With the new pricing, it plans to boost income and ridership, which has fallen from 45 lakh a day to 27 lakh.
Mumbai-Pune AC bus fares slashed
State Transport Minister Diwakar Raote announced the reduction in fares for the Mumbai-Pune bus routes on Wednesday. The fares of Mumbai-Pune AC bus services “Shivneri” and “Ashvamedh” were cut by Rs 80 and Rs 120 each respectively.
The revised fare for the premium bus services will be implemented from July 8.
The decision was taken in a bid to attract more passengers and also keeping in mind the harsh competition bus services face from taxis services like Ola and Uber.
The decision will help bring back commuters, many of whom were switching to intercity cabs or app-based aggregators for their journey, MSRTC officials said.
The rate cut came after the state transport corporation recommended a low pricing for the travel services from Mumbai-Pune route to the Transport Ministry, which accepted it.
