As BMC elections near, BEST buses slip out of political focus https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/mumbai/as-bmc-polls-near-mumbais-best-buses-slip-out-of-political-focus-10464690/ The change is most visible in air-conditioned services. BEST owns only 25 AC buses, while 1,720 AC buses on city roads are run by private operators. Even among non-AC buses, privately run vehicles now far outnumber those owned by BEST. This growing dependence on private buses has come with worrying safety figures. Between January 2023 and December2025,BEST buses were involved in 958 accidents, in which77people were killed and 217 were injured.
Comment: Meanwhile the busses are cramped to a capacity which violates every rule in the Laws relating to public transport. At places at like Churchgate the Driver will keep a packed audience locked, and go to the BEST counter, and even take a short break. Sometimes the AC is not working. The new Electric buses, with the gearless system also does not meeting the standards of steady driving, especially when the bus if overloaded and our roads damaged. So standees have to hang on for dear life..