BEST has added 44 fully air-conditioned electric buses to its Mumbai fleet, with the new vehicles being deployed from Magathane Depot across five routes serving parts of the eastern and western suburbs. The buses were introduced on November 3, 2026, at an event attended by BEST Committee Chairperson Trupti Vishwasrao and other dignitaries.
The 12-metre buses are expected to add capacity on high-demand routes and reduce waiting times at bus stops, according to BEST. They will connect passengers from Kandivali Bus Station East, Sangharsh Nagar in Chandivali, Samata Nagar Bus Station in Kandivali East and Magathane Depot. Services will also provide connectivity to Borivali Station East, Thane Station East and Mira Road Station East.
The buses have been deployed by Evey Trans Maharashtra Pvt Ltd under a rental arrangement. The company has received a purchase order to operate 2,400 fully air-conditioned 12-metre electric buses for BEST. Before the latest induction, 50 buses from that order had already entered the BEST fleet. The addition of 44 vehicles takes the company’s contribution to 94 buses.
BEST is also expanding its fleet through the Ministry of Heavy Industries’ PME Drive scheme. Orders have been issued for 1,500 air-conditioned midi buses and another 2,400 fully air-conditioned 12-metre buses. BEST said 2,000 buses are expected to be inducted into its fleet under the scheme. The expansion is part of the undertaking’s effort to increase public transport availability while moving towards electric mobility.
The newly inducted buses have a battery layout designed to improve space utilisation and vehicle balance. BEST said battery weight has been reduced by 16 per cent, with the batteries positioned in the lower section rather than on the roof. Of the 44 buses, 41 have a more spacious seating arrangement. The vehicles also include passenger-friendly doors intended to support easier boarding.
The buses use a Combined Charging System, or CCS2, which BEST said charges batteries 58 per cent faster than the previous system. They are equipped with anti-lock braking systems, hydraulic power-assisted steering, CCTV cameras, a Vehicle Tracking System and emergency panic buttons. Video analytics linked to a command-and-control centre in Agara will allow the vehicles to be monitored during regular operations.
The fully electric buses produce no tailpipe emissions. Their deployment is expected to reduce exhaust and noise emissions from public transport vehicles on the routes they serve. The immediate operational effect will depend on how the additional capacity is scheduled across the five corridors and how consistently the buses are available during peak travel periods. BEST’s next fleet additions under the PME Drive scheme and the separate rental order will determine the scale of the undertaking’s broader electric-bus expansion.
