Pratip Acharya / Mumbai
The resumption of the suburban railways appeared to be a relief to the Brihanmumbai Electricity Supply and Transport (BEST) undertaking buses, which have been the sole mode of public transport for the 10 per cent office bearers who have been allowed to resume work from June 8.
With railways plying, most of the Mumbaikars resorted to the city's lifeline and as a result, comparatively less number of passengers were seen at the BEST stops on Monday.
Most of the conventional buses were also seen carrying a limited number of passengers, thus adhering to the social distancing norms.
"The rush is comparatively lower today as the suburban railways have started. Most of the passengers we are ferrying are private employees and local commuters travelling at short distance," said an onduty BEST conductor.
BEST spokesperson, Manoj Varade told the undertaking had pressed 2,557 buses from its fleet along with its feeder route buses.
"As the railway services have started, BEST has resumed its point to point bus services, which will provide last-mile connectivity to the officer goers," said Varade. Passengers also admitted that the rush on buses was less on Monday.
"There were comparatively lesser people at the bus stops after the train services started. The buses ferried limited passengers and adhered to social distancing norms," said a passenger travelling towards Oshiwara from Kandivli.
"There were lesser crowds however, the frequency didn't increase much. I wish there were more buses running on the routes," said another passenger.
A senior BEST official said the primary objective of the undertaking will be to press more and more buses to provide point to point service at the suburban pockets of the city which doesn't have sheer connectivity to the local stations.
"Most of the feeder route buses will be pressed at suburban pockets adjoining the western and eastern highways so that passengers from those areas could be ferried to the nearest station as not much road connectivity options are available to them," stated the official.
Meanwhile, easing the burden of the BEST, several private players have also resumed plying bus services to various private companies. School Bus Owners Association (SBOA) president Anil Garg told FPJ that at present the association is providing transportation services to a number of private companies across the city.
"SBOA is providing transportation services to the employees of many private sector firms, at present, the schools are closed and all our buses are lying idle so we are putting use of these buses," said Garg.
