BEST provides public transport services in Mumbai, Thane, and Navi Mumbai. BEST services are provided on different BEST bus routes. It also includes Mira-Bhayandar route. Most of the bus services are run in the interior of Mumbai. It also
operates Mumbai BRTS service. This service is collaboratively
undertaken by Government of Maharashtra, B.E.S.T Undertaking, and MCGM.
Fares
Fares are charged as per BEST rules. Commuters have different options that include single =journey tickets or daily passes. Students can avail discounts on student passes. Senior citizens can avail discounts on quarterly, monthly, fortnightly, and weekly passes. Fare summary and different payment options provide by BEST are mentioned below
- Mumbai Smart Card can be used as a valid pass over all the mumbai best bus routes. It is available at different bus counters.
- Passes are also issued for a day. Tagged as “Daily travel as You Like”, one can use them to travel anywhere in the city.
- Paper tickets are issued for single journey on given best bus routes.
Single Journey Fares
The salient features of single journey tickets are mentioned below
- One can get Single Journey to travel between any two points.
- They are issued by all conductors. One needs to do payment in cash to conductor to be issue these tickets.
- These tickets cannot be re-used. Their validity is only for a single journey.
- Limited bus services and regular Best services have similar fares over same distances on all mumbai best bus routes.
Electric House in Colaba area is the headquarters of the BEST.
After World War II, and India's independence, the management of the company was taken over by the BMC in 7 August 1947, and the company was renamed 'The BEST Undertaking'.
When the corporation took over the company in 1947, there were 242 buses in operation on 23 routes and these buses carried 238,000 passengers per day. At present, there are 4680 buses carrying 4,800,000 passengers daily on over 400 routes. With the change in the name of the city from Bombay to Mumbai, the organisation is now known as Brihanmumbai Electric Supply & Transport (BEST).
As the company grew post-independence, it increased its fleet from 242 to 582 buses over the next decade. In 1949, it took over the Bandra Bus Company, which used to ply buses in the suburbs.[8] In 1951, the electricity division switched over from direct current (DC) to the more efficient alternating current (AC). The company launched its services in the eastern suburbs in 1955. That year, the Undertaking and private operators went to court, with the BEST asking for a complete closure of the private companies. The case dragged on for four years before the Supreme Court of India granted the organisation a complete monopoly over bus services in the Greater Bombay area. In 1964, due to high operational costs and poor public support, its long-running tram services were terminated.
The company achieved the status of being the first company in the country to issue computerised billing in 1974. In 1994, the company introduced electronic meters, in a move to replace the less accurate electric meters. Following a Supreme Court directive, the company has been gradually phasing out old buses and introducing new buses which comply with the Euro III pollution control standards.
Some interesting facts of present-day BEST buses:
BEST has introduced A/C Kinglong services on certain routes.
From 19 November 2004, route SPL-8 travelling from Churchgate to World Trade Centre has started accepting cashless smart cards for automatic fare collection in BEST buses.
BEST currently has over 1500 environmentally friendly Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) buses on its fleet and plans to increase the number of buses.
Due to the 9/11 bombings, BEST has installed an audio-visual surveillance system (CCTV) on each of its buses to monitor suspicious behaviour on board its vehicles.
Almost all buses have two LCD TVs per bus. BEST buses are well maintained buses.
Air conditioned buses are very popular with office goers. The A/C bus "AS-4" from Oshiwara Depot to Backbay Depot, is the route with the highest revenue for BEST. The "AS-4" is most popular bus with morning office goers, as it covers a distance of about 30 km from Andheri to Mantralaya in only one and half hours.
Bus Route
| Route | Description |
|---|---|
| BRTS | BRTS routes are newly added and have no information on fares and route covered. The buses are identified with BRTS on number plates |
| Limited | The bus number of buses plying on this route has LTD in the end to signifying its limited reach to the bus stations. This means the buses are designed only for routes with high capacity of passengers and visit only major destinations. |
| Ordinary | The buses plying on this route reach every bus stop in the city and are numbered in white color on a black number plate. |
| Corridor | A new route introduced in the Best Bus system cover suburban areas passing through south Delhi and ending at Sion and Mahim. Costs more than Express route and covers flyovers also. |
| Air-conditioned | Fully Air Conditioned Buses ply on this route and costs four times than buses plying on ordinary routes. Bus numbers initiate with A or AS. |
| Air-Conditioned Express | Buses plying under this route are known as intra-city buses that use traffic free roads to reach their destinations. Similar to Special buses in terms of ticket cost they cover less number of stops during their journey. |
BEST Bust Depot List
| No | Depot Name | Address | Major Routes |
|---|---|---|---|
| City Zone | |||
| 1 | Colaba | Electric House, Colaba, Mumbai | 6*, 9, 44, 101, 103, 112, 122, 130, 132, 133 |
| 2 | Backbay | Cuffe Parade Road, Backbay, Mumbai | 3, 17*, 25*, 100, 106, 108, 111, 121, 134, 137, 138, 139, C-1 |
| 3 | Central | Morland Road, Byculla, Mumbai | 26*, 30*, 41, 42, 48, 62, 91*, 104, 105, 119, 120, 123, 126, 135, 154, 155, 156, 157, 166, 351, 414* |
| 4 | Worli | Off A. B. Road, Worli, Mumbai | 27, 50, 53, 55, 68, 82, 89, 110, 124, 125, 161, 162, 163, 167, 171, 463, |
| 5 | Wadala | Tilak Road, Opp. Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar College, Wadala, Mumbai | 40*, 57, 69,77, 151, 168, 213, 353, 411, 440*, 453*, 455*, 502*, 504*, AS-440, AS-503, C-52 |
| Central Suburb Zone | |||
| 6 | Marol | Central Road, MIDC, Marol, Andheri (EAST), Mumbai | 2*, 22*, 35, 184, 186, 307, 319, 324, 334, 335, 338, 340, 415, 434, 435, 443, 522*, 545*, 706*,C-46 |
| 7 | Dharavi | Bandra-Sion Link Road, Dharavi, Mumbai | 11*, 46, 52, 66, 70, 75, 76, 87*, 164, 165, 217, 219, 303, 310, 316, 317, 449*, 615, AS-302, C-71 |
| 8 | Magathane | W.E.H, Borivali (East), Mumbai | 40*, 209, 233, 293, 297, 298, 299, 301, 400, 438, 462, 470*, 498*, 524*, 629*, 700*, 701*, 702*, 703*, 705*, 709*, 710*, AS-2, AS-461, AS-524, A-70Exp |
| 9 | Dindoshi | Goregaon–Mulund Link Road, Dindoshi, Mumbai | 282, 287, 288, 289, 300, 326, 327, 341, 342, 343, 344, 346, 347, 349, 398*, 436, 450, 451, 452, 478*, 523*, 525*, 708*, 718*, AS-525, 601, |
| 10 | Majas | J.V.L.R , Jogeshwari (East), Mumbai | 39, 264, 308, 332, 333, 349, 392, 415, 465, 441, 442, 461*, 491*, 492*, 496*, 664, AS-422, AS-551, A-75Exp |
| 11 | Kurla | L.B.S. Marg, Kurla (West), Mumbai | 37, 218, 306*, 311, 313, 318, 320, 322, 323, 332, 365, 395, 413, 418, 426, 433, 446, 507*, 517*, 609, 618, 631, 632 |
| Western Suburb Zone | |||
| 12 | Bandra | Bandra Rly Station (West),Mumbai | 1, 61, 74, 86, 211, 212, 214, 215, 220, 222, 225, 321*, 371, 384, 422, 473, 505*,C-55 |
| 13 | Santacruz | Swami Vivekanand Road, Santacruz (West), Mumbai | 28, 51, 80*, 81*, 83, 200, 224, 231, 304, 336, 339, 356*, 630, 707*, C-12, AS-505, AS-707, AS-515 |
| 14 | Goregaon | Near Motilal Nagar, Goregaon (West), Mumbai | 31EXP, 32, 33, 38, 201, 203, 204, 205, 210, 234, 253, 260, 261, 262, 265, 424, 444*, 454, 479*, 707* |
| 15 | Oshiwara | Oshiwara Village, Goregaon (West), Mumbai | 4*, 56, 84*, 221, 223*, 235, 236, 238, 242, 248, 249, 251, 252, 254, 257, 266, 268, 328, 330*, 425, 469*, AS-4, A-74Exp |
| 16 | Poisar | Swami Vivekanand Road, Kandivali (West), Mumbai | 203, 206, 244, 246, 274, 275, 276, 277, 278, 279, 280, 281, 283, 285, 286, 291, 290*, AS-388 |
| 17 | Gorai | Lokmanya Tilak Road, Gorai, Mumbai | 79, 202*, 208, 226*, 228, 229, 230, 237, 239, 240, 245, 247, 259, 269, 294, 296, 309*, 460*, 461*, 464*, 720*, AS-458, A-76Exp, A-77Exp, C-62 |
| 18 | Malwani | Malwani, Malad (West), Mumbai | 180, 207, 241, 243, 256, 271, 272, 273, 359*, 456, 459*, 601, 611, 621, 622, 624, 625 |
| Eastern Suburb Zone | |||
| 19 | Anik | Salt-pan Road, Wadala, Mumbai | 5, 58, 59, 60, 63, 85, 170, 173, 348, 352, 361, 362, 363, 367, 369, 431, 501*, 503*, AS-3, AS-9, C-43, C-72 |
| 20 | Pratiksha Nagar | Salt-pan Road, Wadala, Mumbai | 14, 15, 43, 45, 64, 67, 88, 169, 172, 174, 181, 255*, 302, 312, 448*, 509*, C-42, |
| 21 | Deonar | Sion–Trombay Road, Deonar, Mumbai | 21*, 92*, 93*, 355*, 360, 364, 374*, 378, 380, 382*, 399*, 493*, 506*, 519*, 520*, 521*, 664, AS-592, C-60 |
| 22 | Shivaji Nagar | Govandi, Shivaji Nagar, Mumbai | 8*, 19*, 20*, 329, 337, 350, 357, 366, 375*, 376*, 383, 476*, 488*, 489*, 508*, 518* |
| 23 | Ghatkopar | Ghatkopar (East), Mumbai | 10*, 185, 305, 325, 354, 379, 381, 385, 386, 388*, 389, 390, 393, 394, 397, 404, 406, 416, 419, 421, 429, 430, 470*, 481, 494*, 499*, 510*, 511*, 533*, C-53, C-45 |
| 24 | Vikhroli | L.B.S Marg, Vikroli (West), Mumbai | 7*, 340, 387, 410, 417, 423, 478*, 497*, 500*, 602, 603, 604, 605, 606, 607, 608 |
| 25 | Mulund | Devidayal Road, Mulund (West), Mumbai | 368*, 370, 373*, 396*, 401, 402, 403*, 405, 407, 408, 409*, 412, 484*, 495, 512*, 513*, 514*, AS-1, AS-5, AS-512, AS-700, A-13Exp, C-61,C-44 |
