The Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) undertaking on Wednesday decided to revoke the daily pass scheme for commuters using its bus services. In a proposal presented before the BEST committee on Wednesday, the civic administration said that commuters are misusing the daily pass scheme.
In a bid to attract commuters, the BEST had launched the daily pass scheme five years ago. Accordingly, commuters were charged `25 for a ticket from Mumbai to areas like Mira-Bhayander, Thane and Navi Mumbai for general and limited buses and `40 for corridor services.
Initially, the scheme received tremendous response from commuters, but it gradually lost steam. In a recent survey carried out by the BEST, it has been found that the daily pass scheme has been grossly misused. According to a BEST official, sometimes passengers who complete their journey, sell their tickets to other commuters for a paltry `10 or `15, thus
resulting in losses for the undertaking.
Further, the number of commuters using the scheme has reduced. As the commuters availing the scheme has been reduced to around nine per cent, the BEST administration has tabled a proposal before the committee to revoke the scheme. According to the data, out of the 42 lakh daily commuters, there are 2.90 lakh people using the `25 pass and 40,000 using the `40 pass every day.
BEST committee chairman Sunil Shine admitted that there has been rampant misuse of the daily pass by commuters. “However, the scheme has also proved beneficial for commuters. So, if it is revoked, another alternate arrangement should also be made available to them. We will have to take into account all these aspects before taking a final decision,” he said.
Meanwhile, a survey by the BEST has revealed that the number of commuters has also dropped by five lakhs between March and May as compared to last year.
In the three-month report submitted before the BEST committee, it has been revealed that the number of BEST commuters, which was 42.01 lakh during last year, has dropped to 36.38 lakh this year. “Due to lack of manpower, hundreds of buses keep gathering dust in the depots. Hence, commuters have started opting for private transport,” a BEST committee member said.