Mumbai: The BEST has ordered an inquiry into a bus hitting a tree near Churchgate station on Thursday morning. The windshield of the vehicle broke and a crowd gathered, stalling traffic duringpeak hours.
The Mantralaya-Worli bus was being driven by Amin Ibrahim Shaikh and no injuries were reported. The Marine Drive police said Shaikh was detained for questioning but not arrested as it's not a serious offence.
Mumbai: BEST bus hits tree at Churchgate during peak hours, probe ordered | FPJ
Rash driving incidents involving BEST’s wet lease buses on the rise
Transport experts said this is not the first such incident as nearly half a dozen other rash driving incidents involving BEST’s wet lease buses have been reported in the past year.
A city-based transport expert said they don’t want Mumbai’s wet lease red buses to become like Delhi’s blueline buses that got the notorious “killer” tag before being phased out. He said that the BEST administration should conduct road safety training and impart driving skills to drivers before handing them wet lease buses.
Under the wet lease, buses are owned, maintained and driven by private contractors who also pay for the fuel, even as BEST deploys its conductors to collect revenue through ticket sales. Currently, BEST operates a fleet of nearly 3,300 buses, including 1,550 on wet lease.
