In Focus

Public Transportation In Mumbai, Not The BEST

Blinded by cataract in both his eyes, 20-year-old street dog ‘Biscuit’ had lived beyond his years owing to timely care provided by local Samaritans in Colaba, a South Mumbai district and would have survived even longer. However, on June 4, 2018 when the city was hit by a sudden pre-monsoon spell, he ambled away for shelter, dodging the humans, taxis, motorcyclists rushing helter-skelter.

Street dog Biscuit who died to a road accident could have been saved
had it not been for the rash mien of Mumbai's traffic culture

Nearby, a large vehicle swerved to dodge a motorcyclist who appeared suddenly in front of it and hit Biscuit. The Indie died almost instantaneously as the vehicle ran over his head, contorting it beyond recognition. On paper, Biscuit’s death qualifies as a ‘natural death’ for a street dog. How else does a street dog die, they say? Is it ‘natural’ or could it have been prevented?

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On 28 July 2015, vegetable vendor Dadarao Bilhore lost his 16-year-old son Prakash to a road accident that occurred because of a pothole. The pothole was covered with water in the rains during which a record number of motorcyclists meet with road accidents. Since then, till date, each time Dadarao sees a pothole, he fills it up with his bare hands. By now, he has filled more than 600 potholes in Mumbai and isn’t stopping. In Mumbai, one person dies to a road accident every 15 hours. The inordinate time taken by ambulances and emergency vehicles to respond, compounded by the apathy of bystanders to help road victims despite there being a Supreme Court directive to do so lead to the deaths of hundreds year after year. India’s financial capital has almost as many cars as London but four times the number of road fatalities earning it the notorious distinction of being India’s Crash Capital.

Prakash was 16 when he died. Last year, he would have voted for the first time among the 10,000-odd first timers in the city. This year, he would have opted for a degree college.

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In 2018, the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared Mumbai the fourth most populated city in the world, surpassing even Beijing. And, while one would imagine that the surge in population would be proportionate to the supply of public transport, in reality, things are starkly different.

The city’s most vibrant Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport Undertaking (BEST) that plies the legendary public transportation service throughout Mumbai is being slowly yet surely phased out of existence to give way to a profitable private sector.

Official data reveals vehicular population in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) increased from 18.42 lakh in 2001 to 79.71 lakh till March 2018.

Concurrently, at its highest, the BEST had 4,700 buses that included 280 air-conditioned ones in 2010 compared to 3,337 in 2018 as it registered a slump of 1,363 or 29 per cent in its resources. Mumbai’s private vehicular population soared from 17.67 lakh in 2010 to 35 lakh in 2018 registering almost a 200 per cent hike. The BEST Bus Service is being elbowed out systematically. Unless the state government, civil society and the people of Mumbai work towards reviving it, BEST Bus Service risk extinction.

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It’s ironic yet true: The very idea of a mass public transport system for Bombay was first offered in 1865 by an American company that applied for a licence to operate a horse-drawn tramway system. Ironic, because USA has - over the years - driven by capitalistic private enterprise, systematically phased out public transportation in favour of private vehicles.

Then, although the licence was granted to the American company, the project never saw the light of the day owing to the economic depression during which Bombay made vast strides in its economy by supplying cotton and textiles to the world market.

The Brihanmumbai Electricity Supply and Transport (BEST - also known as the Bombay Electric Supply & Transport, its official name until 1995) is a civic transport and electricity provider public body based in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India.

Originally set up in 1873 as a tramway company called ‘Bombay Tramway Company Limited,’ the company set up a captive thermal power station at Wadi bunder in November 1905 to generate electricity for its trams and supply electricity to the city. It re-branded itself to ‘Bombay Electric Supply & Tramways (BEST)’ Company.

In 1926, BEST began operating motor buses and in 1947, became an undertaking of the Municipal Corporation, and re-branded itself to "Bombay Electric Supply & Transport (BEST).

In 1995, with Bombay being renamed Mumbai, the organisation was renamed to ‘Brihanmumbai Electric Supply & Transport (BEST)’ and operates as an autonomous body under the Municipal Corporation.

The quintessential BEST Buses have been an integral part of Mumbai throughout history. When the body decided to drop the double-deckers from its fleet, owing to operational reasons, a surge of public protests forced it to persist with the service. Also, a move to colour the buses saffron from its age-old red, in 1997 drew a lot of flak. The red stayed. The BEST Bus isn’t just about public transportation…it’s about the quality of transportation, the personal touch of its conductors, the sensitivity of the drivers, the empathy of co-passengers and more at affordable prices.

This report has been prepared for DraftCraft International’s flagship initiative The Public Space Project in conjunction with its pilot endeavours - The Right To Walk Project, The Gateway of India Project and The Elephanta Island Project to research, analyse and determine the rights of the common man, the pedestrian, the tourist and the rights of the masses availing public transportation in contrast to those privileged few owning private vehicles. The initiative examines laws and policies regarding transport, access to public spaces and privacy guaranteed to all by the State in context of the Right To Equality, Freedoms and the Right to Life.