Indian Express 13.09.2010
BEST buys buses, hasn’t enough space to park them
Prashant Rangnekar Tags : BEST, buses Posted: Mon Sep 13 2010, 05:22 hrs
Sunil Ganacharya, member of the BEST committee, raised the matter about the shortage of space. “Vikhroli depot has a capacity for 85-90 buses but every night 120 buses are parked there. The BEST administration did not think twice about parking while procuring 1,000 buses,” he said.
“We are working on it and we have plans to create more parking for these additional buses,” said O P Gupta, BEST general manager, not wishing to disclose details about the plan. BEST committee members said drivers have complained that the depots are so crammed at night that they find it difficult to drive out in the morning.
A senior BEST official added the administration plans to convert its bus termini into parking spots at night. “There are several termini, such as that outside CST, around the city,” the official said. BEST is also exploring the possibility of expanding the parking capacity of some depots.
The Thane Municipal Transport and Navi Mumbai Municipal Transport, the other two major transport bodies in the MMR, are also facing a similar space crunch as they increase the size of their fleets.
