Mumbai: BEST gets award from FICCI for smart mobility

The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry FICCI the largest and oldest apex business organisation in India has awarded the Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport BEST Undertaking top honours in the Smart Mobility category for BESTs transformation towards progressive mobility an official statement from the BEST said on TuesdayIt said that the BEST has been working on their transformation for 2 years as below1 10000 Electric Buses Convert the entire fleet to electric and grow it to 10000 buses to meet global standards The fleet will double from 3219 to 7000 by 2023 and grow to 10000 by 20262 100 per cent Renewable Energy The entire fleet will be powered by renewable solar energy The 700 MW of solar energy needed for this has already been procured In addition 330 public EV charging points are also being set up to encourage citizens to migrate to electric vehicles3 Digital Tickets on NCMC and BEST Chalo App BESTs digital tickets initiative has been Indias most successful ever The app offers mobile tickets passes live tracking and live seat status and is used by 1 in 3 bus passengers daily BEST has also launched Indias first National Common Mobility Card NCMC ever launched by any citystate bus utility4 100 per cent Digital Buses BEST operates Indias first 100 per cent digital buses where passengers use the BEST mobile app or card to tapin and tapout themselves5 Premium Buses BEST launched Indias first appbased premium city bus services with specially designed luxury buses These buses connect business and residential hubs and operate Airport Express Buses to improve connectivity to Mumbai airport Indias secondlargest airport6 First And Last Mile Services BEST is the worlds first bus transport undertaking to introduce escooters at bus stops for last mile connectivity 1000 escooters have already been deployed at 200 points and this will grow to 5000 escooters in 20237 MobilityAsAService MaaS The entire passenger experience has been digitised All these services are available on a single platform on the BEST Chalo App to ensure seamless and hasslefree doortodoor journeys BEST is the first in India to implement MaaS philosophyResults 55 per cent increase in ridership path to financial sustainabilityThe tremendous benefits arising from this transformation include1 Daily passenger ridership has increased 55 per cent from 225 lakh to 35 lakh now This has reduced 312 lakh car trips daily with enormous reduction in fuel usage air and noise pollution2 BESTs daily income has increased 40 per cent from 7164 crores to 323 crores These decisions set BEST on the path to financial sustainability with breakeven planned in the next 34 years3 The switch to 100 per cent renewable electric buses means a savings of65 million tonnes of CO2 emissions and 6000 million litres of fossil fuel BEST will also earn an additional Rs 514 crores through carbon credit monetisation4 2237 of daily tickets have already been converted to digital giving passengers a better travel experience There is also cost savings on paper rolls to the tune of 199 crores annually5 Private investment of 16000 crores on buses will accelerate industrial development and create 50000 jobsInnovative Model Being Replicated Across India And InternationallyFICCI has recognised BEST not just for its innovative approach and climateconscious efforts but also because this solution is scalable and replicable Several cities and states in India have already begun implementation on their own public transport transformation after studying BESTs success BEST has also seen keen interest from international audiences ranging from developing countries such as Indonesia and African countries to firstworld nations such as Singapore and the USAAccepting the award on behalf of BEST Lokesh Chandra IAS General Manager BEST said When we took the decision to expand our bus fleet to 10000 buses we saw it as a unique opportunity to completely transform BEST into a 10037 green environmentally friendly and sustainable organisation Our new mobile app and card make our services customer friendly efficient and more reliable Mumbaikars have demonstrated their appreciation as is evident from our 537 ridership increase We at BEST are honoured to accept FICCIs recognition of our efforts Not only is it moraleboosting but it encourages us to do even more in the future