INDIA
Mumbai has said goodbye to its traditional double-decker buses after 86 years of serving the city. The non-air-conditioned double-deckers were finally withdrawn from normal use this month after operator BEST decided to phase out the buses as part of a modernisation programme and to reduce operational costs. The last of the buses left its Marol Depot to take up service on the morning of Friday 15 September.
Introduced in 1937, the city’s red double-deckers had become synonymous with the city itself, in a similar way to Routemasters in London. As part of its modernisation, operator BEST has begun a programme of replacement with modern, electric buses, of which around 25 have so far been introduced.
“People have fond memories of this bus. They boarded it whether they were happy or sad. It had space for everyone. I love sitting on the upper deck, feeling the breeze and enjoying the view. The government should reconsider its decision to phase out the Symbol of Mumbai,” 71-year-old Gajanan Khambadi told local media. “There were over 900 such buses in the past, and now we are left with only one.”
In the early 1990s, BEST is reported to have had a fleet of around 900 double-deck buses, though that number declined from the mid-1990s.
Officials at BEST told local media that double-deckers will continue to operate in the city, and said that a total of 900 air-conditioned double-decker bus services will be provided to the people of Mumbai by the end of July 2024.
“The service of 900 air-conditioned double-decker buses will be operated from various 12 bus depots in Mumbai. So that the maximum people can avail of the service of these buses. The BEST has also modernised the bus operation by always taking into consideration the preferences of passengers in Mumbai,” the operator said. “At every stage, an attempt has been made to provide up-to-date bus services to the passengers by changing the bus operation as per the times.”
Similar open-top double-deckers were also expected to be withdrawn by early October, to be replaced with air-conditioned modern vehicles.