Double-deckers must keep plying for heritage despite losses, says historian

MUMBAI: BEST has announced that 60% of its double-decker fleet is likely to be scrapped in a year, to be replaced with single-decker buses . The undertaking at present has 120 double-decker buses, only 48 of which will remain.Double-decker buses were introduced in Mumbai in 1937 as horse-drawn vehicles, BEST being the first transport undertaking in the country to have them. The first stage of motorisation was to replace the horses with engines on wheels, the passenger units being trailers. The maximum size of the double-decker fleet was in 1947, at 242.BEST’s general manager Surendrakumar Bagde said a final call on replacing the buses was still to be taken. “We will see what can be done,” he said. A senior official from the undertaking said double-decker buses were lossmaking, with high operational costs.Commuters and transport experts aren’t happy with BEST’s announcement to curtail its doubledecker fleet. They say doubledeckers have the advantage of carrying more passengers while occupying the same road space as a single-decker bus and suggest that doubledeckers should ply on arterial roads during rush hour.“If the buses have completed their life spans, BEST should procure new double-deckers. BEST authorities should ensure that these iconic buses are visible on the road,” said Vikas Pednekar, who regularly commutes by bus in south Mumbai.But BEST says doubledeckers are loss-making. “You need two conductors to run each bus. The operational cost is nearly 1.5 times that of a normal bus. It consumes more fuel. Another problem is that double-decker buses cannot ply on all roads as unlike single-decker buses, they can’t be made to take sharp turns, as doing so is risky because of stability factors,” a BEST official said.City historian Deepak Rao said the buses have their own charm. “A few decades ago, double-deckers dominated roads in the island city, while single-deckers were primarily operated in the suburbs. This was when the double-decker fleet was well over 200. Sadly, the fleet has been trimmed over the years and only 120 buses remain. BEST should ignore losses and preserve the buses for their heritage value,” he said. Rao recalled how in the past he would take his friends from abroad on a doubledecker from Sassoon Dock, showing them Colaba, Regal, the museum, Fountain, CSMT, Crawford Market and the Metro cinema area. “It was Mumbai darshan for my friends and the upper deck front window seat was a pleasure,” he recounted.At present, double-deckers ferry passengers on 16 routes, with good ridership on busy routes like CSMT to Nariman Point, Colaba to Worli, and Kurla to Santacruz. One of the most popular routes is CSMT to Backbay depot, which goes through Marine Drive.Transport activist A V Shenoy from Mumbai Mobility Forum said at least 100 double-deckers should be preserved. “These buses mean nostalgia,” he said. “You just need to modify the design a bit to allow entry/exit from two doors, by introducing another door in the front of the bus. It will ensure faster dispersal of commuters.”