No urban transport service can hope to escape problems, they
keep on cropping up all the time. And they have to be tackled ! Else the
press and the citizens will not leave you in peace.
Knowing this fully well, the BEST undertaking took charge of the bus
and tram transport in the city in 1947, and it soon ran into a whole lot
of problems. There was a big spurt in the number of new industries; refugees
poured in. The Regional Transport Authority invited the Undertaking to
run the bus transport in the suburban area-and that at a twenty-four hours
notice. Innumerable housing colonies had sprung up, all over the suburbs,
the Government Colony at Bandra (East), the Dhake Colony on the Andheri-Versova
Road, the Malvani Colony on the Malad Marve Road, the Nehru Nagar at Kurla,
the Tagore Nagar and the Kannamwar Nagar at Vikhroli, the S.G. Barve Nagar
at Ghatkopar and the Sardar Nagar near Antop Hill.
Actually, Mumbai had started changing in a big way since World War II.
Its population in 1941 was about 14 lakhs; in the next ten years it shot
up to 28 lakhs; the next ten years took it to 41 lakhs, and in 1970 it
was 56 lakhs. This population explosion, as far as the city was concerned,
was most unexpected. Oblong in shape, Mumbai has most of its Government,
professional and commercial centres of work concentrated in its southern
part. This sets a peculiar traffic pattern : The rush is north-south in
the mornings, and in the reverse direction in the evenings.
Mumbai has thus changed a great deal from what it was about fifty years
ago. But the changes, and the difficulties of adjustment that changes
usually bring, did not come suddenly. They were spread over the years.
In its early years the Undertaking tried ad-hoc solution to every problem
that cropped up. The available buses were re-allocated amongst the various
routes, according to the pressure of traffic. The seating arrangement in
the buses was altered to squeeze in a few more passengers. The procedure
for repairing the buses was streamlined so as to reduce the number of buses
on �sick list�, and more buses were acquired. But the Undertaking also
gave a thought to long-term measures like getting a scientific survey of
the bus-routes made with the help of a computer, or getting experts to
study the possibilities of using alternative means of transport like underground
railway, mono rail, water-bus or mini-bus. These fifty years the Undertaking
has been conscientiously trying to plan for and provide as efficient a
service as it can. It discovered that a short-term measure can only bring
a temporary cure. Every increase in the pressure of traffic rendered such
measures futile. But the experience was not futile. It strengthened the
Undertaking�s resolve to pursue its problems to their roots, and also to
equip itself for the task. And thus we have a much improved bus service
- and the people appreciate it !
THE GROWING FLEET
The Undertaking applied itself to improving its service in many of its
aspects, but the prime need was for increasing the number of buses. Since
its inception in August 1947, the Undertaking has been making a well-planned
effort to meet the need. Every year brought new vehicles. In 1947, 242
vehicles were on the roads. In ten years the number swelled to 582.
A double-decker bus was more suitable than a single-decker one, for
occupying no more road space than the latter and with only one driver,
it carried one and a half times as many passengers.
In the early days of the Undertaking a pressing need was increase the
carrying capacity of the buses. The �standee� bus system introduced
in 1955 was one attempt in that direction. It was restricted in the beginning
to vehicles of a particular type. In thse buses, ten standees were allowed
in the city, and seven in the suburbs. In 1958, the permission was extended
to some double-decker buses; these were allowed to take eight standees.
ALL STANDEES BUS
Another innovation came in 1967 : the "all standee" bus. It has only
a few seats, the rest of the space being for straphanging passengers. These
buses were put on short routes. It was hoped that they would reduce the
period of waiting in the queue for the passengers. But the passengers were
not impressed. Finally, in 1970, the buses had to be withdrawn.
ARTICULATED BUS
1967 saw yet another type of bus put on the roads : the articulated
bus. There were ten of them. The Undertaking was the first transport organisation
in the country to use such a bus. The engine was separate from the bus
in this vehicle, and the two were joined together. The vehicle was of entirely
Indian make, with the Ashok Leyland of Madras manufacturing the tractor-engine,
and Mahindra Owen of Poona building the �bus� part of it.
TROLLEY BUS
In the days of the B.E.S.T. Company, the proposal to run trolley buses
was seriously considered. The Undertaking too gave a thought to it. Its
tramcars had been ageing fast. Could a convenient substitute be found?
So it decided to go in for trolley-buses. Twelve such vehicles were imported,
and they replaced the tramcars on the Gowalia Tank-Mazgaon route on 11th
June 1962. Somehow, the service did not do well. The trolley buses would
go out of order again and again. They were finally withdrawn on 24th March
1971 in favour of ordinary buses. One reason for the failure of the service
was that as it passed along very congested roads its speed had to be kept
much below its maximum; and the trolley-bus had to run at a good speed
in order to be profitable, as experience showed. As such speed is impracticable
on any of the old tram-routes, it seems very unlikely that trolley-buses
will be tried again in the city.
COACH SERVICE
The undertaking had eight luxury coaches, and they were open to hire
at three rupees per mile, but the demand for them was very limited. Therefore,
to put them to profitable use, the Undertaking started a �Coach Service�
in 1966. The service operated every day between Electric House and Sion,
and between Dadar and Juhu on Sundays and holidays. There was a special
fare for this service : 8 paise per kilometer. Once the novelty of riding
in a luxury coach wore out, the higher fares tended to discourage passengers
from using it, unless they had no time to wait for the regular service
bus.
The service lasted for hardly a year. With more �limited� services introduced
on the Sion-Fort route, the Coach Service was patronised even less. The
income from the service started dwindling, while the operating costs kept
rising. Finally, in June 1967, it was discontinued.
MINI BUS
The idea of using mini-buses was first mooted in March 1969. The vehicle
was to be something between a taxi and a bus, and it was to be used for
short runs. According to the initial scheme, for a flat charge of 30 paise,
mini-buses were to ply on the following routes : Strand Cinema to Nagar
Chowk (Bori Bunder) or Ballard Estate or Churchgate; Colaba Bus Station
to Churchgate; Museum to Mahatma Phule Market (Crawford Market); and Pydhoni
to Dhobi Talao. In addition to using the bus stops, the mini-buses were
to set down or pick up passengers on request. The driver was also to act
as the conductor. It was intended to use station wagons for this service.
A year before the proposal started taking shape, some public bodies
approached the Undertaking with the request that it start a mini-bus service
on certain routes as between the Ghatkopar Railway Station and the S.G.
Barve Nagar, for example.
The demand for mini-buses kept growing. Meanwhile, all the aspects of
the proposal were under scrutiny. Two points were newly stressed : (1)
Some of the undeveloped areas in the suburbs have narrow and Kutcha roads,
which cannot take ordinary buses. Mini-buses would be particularly useful
in such areas. (2) Mini-buses could be used to provide direct and speedy
transport between the suburbs and the central parts of the city.
BUS TRANSPORT IN SUBURBS
The Bandra Bus Company used to run the bus service in the Western suburbs.
As the Company refused to comply with the Regional Transport Authority�s
order that only the main road in those suburbs should be used for the service,
the Authority requested the B.E.S.T. Undertaking to take it over immediately.
That was on 30th September, 1949. The request was more of a challenge -
for it meant assuming the responsibility of providing transport for 50,000
passengers at twenty-four hours� notice. The undertaking accepted the challenge.
And on 1st October 1949, B.E.S.T. buses started plying in the western suburbs.
Twenty-six buses were spared for the service, which was hailed by the residents
of the suburbs as a boon. The Undertaking was overwhelmed with expressions
of praise and gratitude. The Undertaking bought eleven of the buses the
Bandra Bus Company had been using.
The Undertaking also took over the employees of the old company. The
old fare, in the suburbs, was 12 pies per mile; the Undertaking changed
it to 9 pies per mile, which had been its fare for the city.
In January 1955, the Undertaking launched its bus service in the eastern
suburbs. Thus it came to serve the entire suburban area, carrying nine
lakhs of passengers every day. This was about the same as the number of
suburban passengers using the two railways. However, the eastern suburbs
had some private bus services still plying. The Undertaking asked for their
closure. The matter dragged on in a court of law for four years. The verdict,
given in February 1959, was for the closure of the private services.
The Undertaking applied to the Regional Transport Authority for permission
to extend its bus service to the areas newly included in Greater Bombay
- that is up to Mulund in the east and Dahisar in the west. Meanwhile the
operators of private buses had moved the High Court for permission to appeal
to the Supreme Court. On the High Court turning down their plea, the Authority
granted the necessary permission to the Undertaking, from 1st December
1960.
INCENTIVE BONUS SCHEME FOR THE EMPLOYEES
To provide the passengers with a comfortable bus service needs a sufficient
number of vehicles. The Undertaking has always been trying to achieve such
sufficiency. But then what does �sufficient� mean? You cannot define it.
The vehicles are just one factor in a bus transport system. There are others
like the conductors, the drivers, the maintenance staff and the repairs
staff in the workshops. If all these employees are not up to the mark,
no increase in the number of buses is going to make it �sufficient�. So
much depends on the proportion of vehicles stabled for repairs.
Similarly, the efficiency of the service depends a good deal on the
conductor and the driver not unnecessarily holding up the movement of their
vehicle, the conductor issuing tickets promptly, and taking care to avoid
altercation with the passengers. Efforts to secure such efficiency have
to be made methodically. Some efforts made by the Undertaking in this direction
in the beginning were as follows :
(1) The system of granting an efficiency bonus of Rs.25 every quarter
was started in 1951. It applied to both the conductors and the drivers.
To be eligible for the bonus, the employed had to attain a certain level
in attendance and in efficiency.
(2) Absenteeism among employees is epidemic in the March June period.
For lack of conductors and drivers, the usual number of buses cannot go
out on the roads. A special bonus scheme had therefore been instituted
for this period, to dissaude them from going on leave.
(3) A scheme called �Model Unit� was started in 1961. To find out the
defects in the maintenance of vehicles, and to decide on the remedies for
them, fifty vehicles of the same make were grouped together, and their
maintenance was to be carried out according to the methods and time-table
laid down by the manufacturers. On the basis of this, a model maintenance
system was to be finalised, and then aplied to all the vehicles of that
make. To operate the scheme, fifty double-decker buses of Leyland Titan
make were grouped together in the Central Depot. Similar groups were made
in the other depots, one by one. Selected drivers were put on these vehicles.
(4) Sometimes it is minor defect which puts a bus out of action. In
order that such a bus should not get stuck on the road for long, mechanics
were stationed specially for the job at some of the starters� chowkies
at the important termini. To deal with major defects there is a �Breakdown
Lorry or Van�. The van goes to the ailing bus, and sets it right as quickly
as possible.
(5) The schemes like �bus running control�, the wireless van, etc. were
in operation. The wireless van is a special feature. It does important
jobs like reporting breakdowns of vehicles to the staff concerned or asking
for extra buses at points where there are inordinately long queues of passengers.
These schemes were definitely instrumental in increasing efficiency.
And yet they seemed to fall short of the requirements.
There were not enough vehicles. The proportion of absentees came down,
but even then it was large enough to affect the working. Would the recruitment
of women conductors bring about an improvement in the attendance? This
was considered in 1951.
Then there were the sick vehicles. Although their proportion was gradually
coming down, it was still considerably higher than in the bus systems in
cities like London, New York and Tokyo. There was much scope for improvement
in the maintenance of vehicles. The rainy season brought in its wake a
flood of complaints about leaking roofs and windows that got stuck. The
population of the city kept growing. It was a trying situation, and it
called for more throughgoing and fundamental improvement. "The Incentive
Bonus Scheme for Bus Transport instituted in April 1967 proved quite effective
in combating some of the troubles mentioned above.
BONUS SCHEME FOR CONDUCTORS
Under this scheme, a conductor was to be granted a bonus for extra �work�.
The fare collected by him during the month was taken as his �work�. Some
of the immediate benefits of the scheme were as follows : (1) The number
of complaints received from passengers dropped from 600 to 400 per month.
(2) The Undertaking could cope with the traffic without increasing the
number of buses. (3) Passengers had to wait for a shorter time in queues.
(4) The proportion of absentees among conductors came down.
New Incentive Bonus Scheme
Like the conductors, the three categories of staff namely Bus Drivers,
Workers in the Traffic and Engineering Departments and the Maintenance
Staff are important in a bus-transport system achieving maximum efficiency.
But, in their case, the efficiency is not of an individual; it is the result
of the co-operative effort of workers from each of the three categories.
Such joint effort enables a bus to run smoothly and punctually. This scheme
was designed to keep more buses running - that is, to reduce the number
of �sick� buses.
In 1969, this scheme brought down the percentage of �sick� vehicles
by 2 to 3 per cent - which meant 100 vehicles more on the road. In that
year about 4,000 drivers, 200 of the traffic supervisory staff and 2,000
maintenance workers joined the scheme.
The workshops too came under a similar scheme from 1st October 1969.
The measure of efficiency in this case was the number of vehicles lying
idle in the workshop waiting for repairs. This scheme too had proved effective,
the percentage of vehicles under repairs dropping.
MORE FACILITIES FOR JOURNIES BY BUS
You have read of the various schemes operated by the Undertaking to
augment the efficiency of its transport service. Simultaneously, more facilities,
besides the daily bus service, were being made available. Since the days
of the B.E.S.T. Company, schools and private parties had been hiring out
buses, and the practice continued. Some facilities tried out by the Undertaking
were given up after a while as unworkable. The Luxury Coach Service was
one of these. It was started in August 1955. The coach was fitted up with
all manner of conveniences like Dunlopillo cushions for the seats, adjustable
backs, a reading light for each seat, and fans. The coach was mainly meant
for the use of foreign tourists. They were taken round in the coach on
a guided tour of the city. Accompanying them was a guide to tell them about
the important places. As the Coach Service failed to get sufficient response,
it was closed down in 1971.
There was a �Sunday Excursion�, specially meant for visitors to the
city. The bus left from the Taj Mahal Hotel every Sunday morning, and stopped
at Hanging Gardens, the Juhu Beach, the Aarey Colony, the Powai Lake, Ghatkopar
and Chembur, before returning to the Taj Mahal Hotel in the evening.
In 1961, the "Travel-As-You-Like-Ticket" was introduced. Rs.1.50 was
the price for adults, and 75 paise for children. It was issued for Sundays
and Holidays only. This ticket entitled the holder to travel anywhere in
the city and the suburbs. But as it was found that the facility was misused,
the Undertaking abolished it in 1967.
DEPOTS AND BUS STATIONS
The undertaking had to build more and more depots and bus stations at
suitable places in the city and in the suburbs as its bus service went
on expanding. In a depot, a vehicle is cleaned up, its machine is oiled,
and minor repairs are done. For major overhaul, of course, the vehicle
has to be sent to the workshop. During the last fifty years bus depots
came up, one by one, as under : (1) Bombay Central, 1950; (2) Santacruz,
1950; (3) Kurla, 1955; (4) Tardeo, 1960; (5) Wadala, 1961; (6) Worli, 1961;
(7) Poisar, 1966; (8) Marol, 1968; (9) Deonar, 1969; (10) Vikhroli, 1972;
(11) Ghatkopar, 1974; (12) Backbay, 1976; (13) Goregaon, 1978; (14) Bandra,
1980; (15) Dharavi, 1980; (16) Dindoshi, 1985; (17) Anik, 1988; (18) Oshiwara,
1990; (19) Malwani, 1991; (20) Magathane, 1992; (21) Govandi, 1992; (22)
Kalakilla, 1993; (23) Majas, 1995; (24) Gorai, 1996 and (25) Pratiksha
Nagar, 1996.
FERRY SERVICE
The BEST Undertaking started a ferry service at Manori in 1981.
The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation entrusted the running of the service
to the Undertaking acknowledging its excellent bus service, as it were.
The Undertaking has justified the trust placed in it by making a success
of the Marve-Manori ferry service.
BUS FARES
Even after the B.E.S.T. Company was taken over by the Municipal Corporation,
the bus fares continued unchanged till 31st March, 1951. For the city the
fares were telescopic, that is, as the distance increased the fare per
mile came down. For the suburbs, the fare was �flat�, that is, it remained
the same whatever the distane. For one anna you could go a mile and a half
in the city, but only one mile in the suburbs.
Then came the changes in the fare-structures. From April 1951, bus travel
in the city became even cheaper, with the basic fare of one anna taking
you a mile and three quarters. However, the fractional fares, like 1.1/2
anna or 2.1/2 annas and 3.1/2 annas, for the fare �stages� were rounded
off to the full anna. In the suburbs too the fare was brought down from
one anna per mile to nine pies, that is three quarters of anna.
The disparity in the fares for the city and the suburbs was brought
to an end in October 1955. The suburbs naturally profited from this. For
an anna you could now travel a mile and three quarters, instead of a mile
and a quarter. But the fractional fares were restored.
In 1959, with decimal coinage coming into force, except for the 7 paise
fare for the first stage, all the fares were multiples of five, that is,
10, 15, 20 and so on. These came into effect from 15th January 1959. From
21st April 1963, the minimum fare was raised from 7 paise to 10 paise.
The Undertaking revised its bus fares from time to time strictly according
to the provision made under Govt. notification. The details of revised
bus fares from 1963 onwards are given below :
