New BEST bus is finally here. Is it the best colour?
Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) has finally got their bus with new colours (white with yellow stripes). Two such buses will run on city roads to collect feedback from commuters.
The buses are currently parked at the Colaba bus depot. Senior BEST officials are yet to decide on the routes and the days when the buses will run throughout the city. Apart from colour, the new buses also have a different logo. The decision on the routes will be taken in the next committee meeting to be held on Thursday.
“These buses will run on an experimental basis to collect feedback from commuters. The decision to bring more such buses will be taken only after we receive a positive feedback from commuters,” said Manoj Varade, Deputy Public Relations Officer of BEST.
The project of redesigning these buses have been done by five students from Jamsetjee Jeejeebhoy Institute of Applied Art. The students were asked to suggest different colours and designs that would appeal to commuters.
The new logo has been derived from the ‘Devanagiri script’. It is recognisable by a horizontal line that runs along the top of the full letters. The cost for the entire overhauling is yet to be drawn up. However, just to paint the buses with new logos will cost BEST about Rs 5 lakh.
Final year students Kanchan Ghokale, Samruddhi Varade, Pallavi Shedge, Rajat Bele and Gayatri Sohoni have worked on this project. The whole idea behind using white and yellow colours is to help the buses stand out in the city. “Our students have researched on the various colour combinations that could be used on the buses. The yellow stripes and the white colour on the buses will make the buses more visible on city roads,” said Santosh Kshirsagar, Dean of JJ Institute of Applied Arts.
However, some commuters said the new colours on the buses does not appeal much to them. “The BEST buses are known by red colours. The management of the undertaking has taken a wrong decision to colour these buses using white and yellow colours,” said Aarti Patel, a BEST commuter.