Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) on Monday launched its new mobile app – BEST Pravas – that will let the 30 lakh commuters of the transport body track the buses on any route. (Hindustan Times)

Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) on Monday launched its new mobile app – BEST Pravas – that will let the 30 lakh commuters of the transport body track the buses on any route. They will also be able to access features like emergency help and bus stop alerts.

Developed under the ₹112-crore Integrated Transport Management System (ITMS) project, the BEST Pravas mobile app will be available for download on both Android and IOS platforms soon. According to BEST officials, it will help passengers know the estimated arrival time of buses and journey time.

Ahead of the Assembly polls, Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray also inaugurated 10 e-buses, including six air-conditioned ones, at a function held at BEST’s Colaba headquarters. For the first time, BEST has hired these buses on a wet-lease model, in which the private operators take care of maintenance and driver costs. These e-buses will first run on route 302, operated between Sion and Mulund via LBS Marg.

Speaking at the event, Thackeray asked the BEST to shift to renewable energy like solar energy, for charging e-buses. “This will make BEST and Mumbai 100% pollution-free... We need to change with the times,” he said.

Speaking about the new mobile app, he said that it will give power to the passengers.

Surendrakumar Bagde, general manager of BEST said that under the ITMS project, 100% automation of their bus operations is completed and data has been saved on a cloud-based system. “Now BEST has world-class systems like other countries...We have brought the same solution and technology for Mumbai that is used for transport management in London,” he said.

To launch the vehicle tracking system-based app, BEST has geo-mapped nearly 6,000 bus stops and over 400 routes. Officials said that they had received feedback from 532 people during the fortnight-long trial. They have made the necessary changes in the app and will continue to improve upon it in the future.

Yogesh Sagar, minister of state for urban development, said that in the future, the BEST will have to compete with the Metro and hence it should focus on building strong route networks and adopting small buses.