BEST’s electric footprint to rise to 15% with 100 double-deckers

MUMBAI: Expect 12% of BEST’s 3,300 buses to be electric by the year-end, when it will have 380 e-buses. To boost the e-move, the undertaking decided on Monday to procure 100 new e-double deckers, which could push the electric footprint to 15% (nearly 500 e-buses) by early 2022.

BEST general manager Lokesh Chandra on Monday announced that the undertaking wants to scrap its plan of procuring diesel double-deckers and will go instead for ‘pure electric’ twin-deck buses.

The iconic double-deckers have been popular among Mumbaikars for decades, but its fleet shrunk lately from 120 a few years back to 48. Twenty-eight more could be phased out in the coming months as they complete their lifespan, sources said. BEST is in a hurry to get new twin-deck buses so that it maintains the double-decker fleet at 120.