Mumbai to get 1,900 new electric buses by mid-2023, BEST floats tender

Public transportation in Mumbai is set to become an eco-friendly green affair. Aaditya Thackeray, Minister for Environment, Tourism and Protocol, Government of Maharashtra, today lauded BEST (Brihahanamumbai Electric Supply and Transport Undertaking) which has invited tenders for 1,900 fully electric buses for Mumbai.

Of the buses tendered by BEST, 1,400 will be 12-metre AC electric buses, 400 will be 9-metre AC electric buses and the remaining 100 will be mini-AC electric buses.

BEST, which has an fleet of 386 electric buses, plans to complete procuring these additional buses by mid-2023. These 1,900 fully electric buses will be inducted in phases and will make up for 50% of BEST’s fleet of buses plying on Mumbai roads by 2023.

Under its recently announced EV Policy 2021, the Maharashtra government has embarked on a vision setting itself a target of electrifying public transport in Mumbai and other cities including Pune, Nagpur, Nashik, Aurangabad and Amravati.

“I am delighted to learn that the tender to procure 1,900 fully electric buses has been floated. This will help increase the electric bus fleet in Mumbai providing clean mobility and cutting down emissions. The Department of Environment and Climate Change is working hard to take this to other cities of Maharashtra under State and Central Government policies,” Thackeray said.