Mumbai: BEST starts premium bus service on Thane BKC route

People will soon be able to travel in comfortable premium buses from Kharghar in Navi Mumbai to Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC) in Bandra East. Brihanmumbai Electricity Supply and Transport Undertaking (BEST) will soon start providing luxury services along the 36-kilometre route.

The BEST project launched a luxury bus service from Thane to BKC in December, and riders responded well. According to BEST general manager Lokesh Chandra, Mumbai became the first city in India to offer an all-electric premium city bus service with the Thane-BKC premium service route.

These air-conditioned, zero-emission electric vehicles (e-buses), also known as the "BEST Chalo Bus," will ensure a smooth, comfortable, and stress-free journey. The vivid blue colour of the fleet will set it apart. In addition to the Thane-BKC and Kharghar-BKC lines, premium buses will run from Chembur to Cuffe Parade and Thane to Powai. The BEST authorities finalised these routes after a thorough survey of popular private bus routes.

Commuters must reserve tickets for these buses via the Chalo app to use them. These buses will operate without bus conductors because the service will be digitized. Commuters can make use of the tap-in, tap-out feature. This will be a non-stop service that will only stop to pick up a passenger. In addition, the BEST plans to deploy 200 more e-buses on major city routes in the following months.