Over the course of the next nine months, the Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) initiative in Mumbai plans to replace 900 non-air conditioned double-decker buses with AC double-decker e-buses. The buses will be operated out of 12 of the 27 bus depots and will have mobile charging stations, automatic entry, and CCTVs. The non-AC double-decker buses, which were fashioned like London’s recognizable red buses, are slated for destruction, but there are pleas to keep them in the BEST museum.
Mumbai: Today, September 15, marks the final day for double-decker electric buses without air conditioning (AC), and the Mumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) project will buy 900 AC double-deckers over the next nine months.

The project currently contains 35 AC double-decker electric buses, 16 of which are traveling. BEST said late Thursday night that they had cancelled the conventional double-decker buses because they had reached the end of their useful lives and that going forward, Mumbai would only receive AC double-decker buses.

Four additional AC double-decker e-buses will be added to south Mumbai, while 15 more will be added to the western and eastern suburbs, per the BEST plan. This is in addition to the 16 double-decker AC buses that are already in service. According to Vijay Singhal, general manager of BEST Undertaking, “the purchase order to supply a total of 200 AC double-decker e-buses has been given to Switch Mobility, of which 35 have already been received and the remaining buses will come by the end of March 2024.”

Similar to this, Harit Mobility has been given the go-ahead to provide 700 AC double-decker e-buses, 50 of which will be delivered by December of this year. According to BEST sources, they will begin receiving 100 of these buses per month starting in January and will receive 50 buses in July of the following year. Out of 27 bus depots, 12 will be used to operate the 900 AC double-decker buses. These buses are eco-friendly, include automatic doors on both sides, and have mobile charging stations fitted along with CCTVs.

The non-AC double-decker buses, which were initially introduced in 1937 and were fashioned after London’s recognizable red buses, will be discontinued by THE BEST. The BEST museum must keep these buses on display, according to the passengers. The BEST currently operates a fleet of 2,966 buses.

Source- Hindustan times
Link- https://www.hindustantimes.com/cities/mumbai-news/city-to-get-900-ac-double-decker-e-buses-in-9-months-101694718518903.html