BEST bus fare: The minimum non-AC bus fare has been reduced from Rs 8 to Rs 5 for first 5 kms.

The BEST buses fare in Mumbai has reduced from today. To boost ridership and income, the civic-run Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport or BEST has reduced the minimum non-AC bus fare from Rs 8 to Rs 5 for the first five kilometres. The maximum fare for this class has been capped at Rs 20.

For BEST AC buses, the minimum fare has been brought down from Rs 20 to Rs 6 and maximum fare has been kept at Rs 25. The BEST hopes that this move will draw people back to buses which has lost commuters to autos and share taxis.

After the reduction in price fare, the commuters shared their joy on micro-blogging site Twitter.

A user called it her "lucky day".

Another user thanked Shiv Sena leader and the party's youth wing chief Aditya Thackeray who had earlier said that this decision has been taken for last mile connectivity and a comfortable journey.

Minimum rate is 5₹ for BEST Bus from today gr8 news for all Mumbaikars public transport is so cheap for all classes.. Thanks to Mr. @AUThackeray for such a good decision ???????? pic.twitter.com/tjOeDI1cgZ — ameyravanak (@ameyravanak123) July 9, 2019

A user shares excitement about being able to save more money.

Wow #Mumbai#BEST got it's rates reduced and standardized. That's big news. With the current rate I can save around Rs500 on my monthly bus transport. Amazing! Something to cheer about! Hope this continues. — Nitin S (@NitinS64576211) July 9, 2019

BEST, with a fleet of 3,337 buses, including 120 double-deckers, has so far failed to recover even its cost of operation, and its ridership over the years has fallen from 45 lakh a day to 27 lakh. It operates 483 routes in Mumbai, Thane and Navi Mumbai and its daily loss is estimated at around Rs 2 crore.