The Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) on Wednesday announced the slashing of rates of the unlimited journey daily pass of its AC buses to ₹50 from ₹60, according to the news agency PTI. In addition, the rate of the monthly pass has also been increased from ₹750 to ₹1,250. The new price will come into effect from April 7, 2023.The announcement will provide relief to passengers as the mercury levels are now rising in the city. BEST officials said the undertaking has revised the fares in super saver plans, unlimited ride pass, student pass, and senior citizen pass, and the changes will come into effect from April 7.“Aside from offering convenience, these plans will help save up to 60% in comparison to buying physical tickets. We want to further popularise the digital ticketing,” an official said and added that the new plans will allow rides in both AC and non-AC buses.
The super saver plans have been divided into a daily plan for those travelling a couple of days a week, one-to-four-week plan for everyday commuters, and flexible plan for those who travel occasionally. The fares have been segregated at ₹6, ₹13, ₹19, and ₹25. The duration of these passes varies from 1 day to 84 days, depending on the number of trips. Besides, the fare for unlimited AC bus rides has been reduced from ₹60 to ₹50 per day while for 30 days, the charge is ₹750 instead of the current ₹1,250. A student pass for 60 trips now comes for ₹200 against ₹250 at present. According to sources, there have been around 44 lakh downloads of Chalo App so far and over 25% have used it to purchase tickets.The undertaking recently added two more premium bus routes - Thane to Andheri (East) and Gundavali to BKC. Ride in these buses, which run every 15 minutes for 8 hours a day, can only be booked through Chalo App and Chalo Card. Currently, the BEST operates nearly 50 premium buses. BEST provides public bus service to neighboring Thane, Navi Mumbai, and Mira-Bhayandar cities apart from Mumbai city and its suburbs. More than 30 lakh commuters travel on its fleet of around more than 3300 AC and Non-AC buses daily.