Title - BEST loses passengers, but earns more money

MUMBAI: BEST has attracted fewer passengers but earned more money since hiking fares a few months ago.While daily earnings have gone up by Rs 90 lakh, from Rs 2.84 crore in March to Rs 3.74 crore in June, the number of passengers has dropped from 40.1 lakh a day to 37.3 lakh in the same period. The fares were hiked in April.The figures were part of the statistics presented by Congress member Ravi Raja before the BEST committee on Wednesday. Raja alleged that due to the fare hike, a significant number of passengers switched to trains and autorickshaws. "People are travelling by train instead of bus. In some places, they prefer using share autos," he said, adding: "People may also opt for the monorail and Metro in future."BEST general manager Om Prakash Gupta, however, said there was no need to panic. He told the panel that the situation was not as alarming as projected by Raja. "Look at the positive side. Our per-passenger income has gone up and the transport body's revenue has escalated by 35% in recent weeks. This is despite the fact that we have hiked fares by 20-50%," he added.

Gupta said past statistics, which indicated that the average daily passenger count was 43 lakh, were not based on accurate calculations. "It was a rough estimate," he said, adding that the figures were also open to different interpretations. "A monthly pass holder may make a minimum of two journeys in a day while a daily pass holder may make six journeys on an average."The BEST GM said the loss-making undertaking was earning more revenue of late and would break even by next March. The total revenue for the transport division for 2010 was Rs 850 crore; the projected revenue for 2013 was Rs 1,400 crore.

Committee member Suhas Samant said there was a need to introduce more buses in south Mumbai as citizens were forced to take taxis during the peak-hour rush. Raja suggested that buses that were not deployed in the afternoon should be used to help generate more revenue.