BEST JOURNEY GETS COSTLIER

The BEST bus ride in the city is likely to get costlier from Thursday with the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Transport Authority (MMRTA) on Wednesday clearing a fare hike. “The hike is in the range of Rs 1 and Rs 12 for distances over 4 km. There is no hike for shorter distances (0-4 km). But, commuters may have to pay up to Rs 15 for 6 km and Rs 18 for 8 km,” a senior official said. This would put a burden on lakhs of commuters who are dependent on the popular red fleet. BEST caters to 30 lakh commuters daily. There will also be a hike in daily bus pass fee from Rs 70 to Rs 90. For separate bus passes (island city and suburbs), the hike will be Rs 10. “The hike will also result in an increase in monthly bus pass rates while students will have to cough up more for season passes from the new academic year.

BEST officials said that the student monthly bus pass fee has been hiked by Rs 50. A senior official said apart from the hike, BEST will also undertake scrapping of routes which have less than 40 per cent occupancy, rationalization of the fleet and cost-cutting measures such as curtailing special allowances of staffers.

The AC bus fare will also go up by at least Rs 5, especially for the AC hybrid electric buses launched recently to cater to office-goers from Borivali, Thane, Mulund and Kharghar to Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC). The AC fares on the circular routes within BKC will also go up, with the minimum AC fare increasing from Rs 15 to Rs 20.