In Part 1 of this series, we discussed how BEST’s wet-leased buses — owned and operated by private contractors — are rapidly replacing its own fleet. In Part 2, we explore how this model is impacting the quality of bus services.
Last December, nine people were killed and another 37 injured in an accident involving a wet-leased electric bus in Kurla. According to the police, the driver had not been adequately trained before being moved to an automatic electric bus from manual, geared buses.
Under the wet-leasing model, introduced to cut BEST’s costs, a contractor owns and operates the bus, and in return BEST pays them a fixed amount per kilometre of transport. Over the years, BEST has sharply increased its wet-leased fleet, but these buses are saddled by issues like poor service conditions and shortage of staff. In all of this, commuters ultimately pay the price.
Workers’ exploitation has led to recurrent staff strikes
According to the 2024 report ‘Privatization of BEST’, released by Aamchi MUMBAI Aamchi BEST! (AMAB), a citizens’ forum campaigning for better public transport, contractors have tried to cut costs by overworking and underpaying drivers, and by shoddy bus maintenance. Recurrent staff strikes to protest these issues – three of which happened this January alone – are inconveniencing commuters as well.
AMAB’s 2022 survey of 100 drivers across 10 depots showed disparity in salaries, even among those employed by the same contractor. All drivers said their salary, ranging between Rs 16,200 and Rs 19,000 a month, was insufficient to meet their needs.
Though two-thirds of the surveyed drivers travelled 1.5 to 2 hours daily from home to reach their assigned depots, some contractors didn’t pay them a travel allowance. Those that did, paid a paltry amount. Moreover, these drivers do not even get free travel on BEST buses, unlike those on BEST’s payroll.
Read more: Mumbai’s BEST buses have a fleet issue
The wet-leasing contractors have complete leeway to decide the terms of employment of the staff. BEST on its part absolves itself of responsibility by pointing the finger at the contractors and issuing warnings to them.
| A BEST driver Citizen Matters spoke to said the drivers of wet-leased buses are not given proper training, which results in mishaps such as the Kurla accident. However, a BEST official we spoke to said the driver of the Kurla bus was not a novice, having driven wet-leased buses for two years. But he also admitted that the driver had just nine days of experience driving an electric bus when the accident occurred. After the accident, BEST has stepped up the training period for new drivers of wet-leased buses from one week to four weeks. |
Penalty rule, staff shortage impact service quality
Wet-leased buses have to cover a certain distance each day, barring which BEST puts a penalty on the contractor. The unfortunate result of this is that, at times, bus drivers skip stops to cover the required distance.
Besides, not all buses have a conductor now. Sandhya explains, “Earlier, people used to get into the bus and the conductor used to give tickets. Now there is an additional queue at the bus stop for the ticket.” This not only causes a delay, but at times commuters miss the bus as the driver wouldn’t halt if there is no conductor at the bus stop, says Sandhya. She narrates her own experience of seeing this regularly on a feeder route from Dadar West station to Worli.
Depot land diverted
Activists have also rung alarm bells regarding the way depot lands are diverted for other purposes.
Since BEST is not responsible for maintaining wet-leased buses, it has leased out some depots that are prime real estate. For instance, a private builder has developed a residential building in a part of Mahim depot. Sudas says the lease is for thirty years, with the option of renewal for another thirty years. There is no clarity on what will happen to the residents here once the lease runs out.
Such construction has happened in Marol Maroshi depot too, which then became embroiled in a legal tangle as the developer outsourced construction to a third party without BEST’s permission. Caroline D’Souza, Marol resident and a BEST commuter, says drivers hardly use this depot now and instead park the buses outside, which causes traffic jams.
These are just two examples of such development on depot lands.
According to news reports, BEST has not recovered money from some of these transactions. The AMAB report also says: “The BEST has yet to recover Rs 300 crore from developers involved in three earlier such cases of monetisation of BEST lands, and the General Manager in 2023 admitted that such recovery would be “difficult.”
Read more: Sporadic bus workers’ strikes could continue, so what is BEST doing?
Although the Metro is being presented as a faster alternative to BEST buses, for many it is not a viable option. For one, last mile connectivity from Metro stations is poor, which necessitates an additional mode of transport. Neha Dholam, a domestic worker who travels every day from Ghatkopar to Vile Parle, uses the BEST instead of Metro as she can board the bus right outside her house and cannot afford Metro tickets.
The question at the heart of this issue is whether BEST should be treated like any other profit-making venture. After all, it is a public service comparable to that provided by municipal hospitals. Shashank says, “When it’s a public service, there is no question of profit and loss.” Sandhya agrees with him, saying public transport is the BMC’s responsibility.
At a time when infrastructure for private vehicle owners is getting a boost in Mumbai, surely, public transport, which far larger numbers of people use, deserves a shot in the arm.
| Action to be taken According to drivers and conductors on BEST’s payroll: Address the delay in gratuity payment to retired employees Pay the pending COVID-19 allowance to the staff who reported for duty during the pandemic Provide better canteen facilities, with food at subsidised rates According to activists and union leaders: Scrap the wet-leasing model and maintain BEST’s own fleet of buses For adequate funding, merge BEST’s budget with the BMC budget. Don’t expect profits from BEST as the urban local body is responsible for providing public transport. |
Also read:
- Banking on contract buses, BEST to scrap three-quarters of its own fleet in a year
- How do persons with disability feel about public transport in Mumbai?
- Privatisation of public transport: The risks ahead