A Project report on TRANSPORTATION BUS

Submitted to Prof. S. Chinnam Reddy

Prepared By:Mitul Kotak (39) Shruti Shah(91) Satyam Sejpal (84) Vijay Kumar Singh (118)

INDEX

Introduction
The establishment of State Transport Undertakings (STUs) in India in the 1960s and 1970s did an enormous service in linking towns and villages across the country, Particularly in the western and southern parts. Even though the service may leave much to be desired in terms of quality, the importance of STUs lies in the fact that, unlike in most other developing countries, one can connect to almost every villages in India. Urban areas in India, which include a wide range of megacities, cities, and towns, are not all that fortunate in terms of intracity transportation. Transport in this context has been a victim of ignorance, neglect, and confusion. As far as the public transport system in Indian cities is concerned, dedicated city bus services are known to operate in 17 cities only and rail transit exists only in 4 out of 35 cities with population in excess of one million. Transport demand in most Indian cities has increased substantially, due to increases in population as a result of both natural increase and migration from rural areas and smaller towns. Availability of motorized transport, increases in household income, and increases in commercial and industrial activities have further added to transport demand. In many cases, demand has outstripped road capacity. Greater congestion and delays are widespread in Indian cities and indicate the seriousness of transport problems.. The transport crisis also takes a human toll. Statistics indicate that traffic accidents are a primary cause of accidental deaths in Indian cities. The main reasons for these problems are the prevailing imbalance in modal split, inadequate transport infrastructure, and its suboptimal use. Public transport systems have not been able to keep pace with the rapid and substantial increases in demand over the past few decades. Bus services in particular have deteriorated, and their relative output has been further reduced as passengers have turned to personalized modes and intermediate public transport. Individual cities cannot afford to cater only to private cars and two-wheelers. There must be a general recognition that without public transport cities would

be even less viable. There is a need to encourage public transport instead of personal vehicles. This requires both an increase in quantity as well as quality of public transport and effective use of demand as well as supply-side management measures. People should also be encouraged to use nonmotorized transport and investments may be made to make it safer. Cities are the major contributors to economic growth, and movement in and between cities is crucial for improved Quality of life A few metropolitan cities are served by well-organized bus services. Services are mostly run by publicly owned State Transport Undertakings (STUs). Private bus services have started operation in all places. All passenger buses use the standard truck engine and chassis; hence, they are not economical for city use. There are virtually no buses in India specifically designed for urban conditions. Qualitatively, available urban mass transport services are overcrowded, unreliable, and involve long waiting periods. Overcrowding in the public transport system is more pronounced in large cities where buses, which are designed to carry 40 to 50 passengers generally, carry double the capacity during peak hours. As a result, there is a massive shift to personalized transport, especially two-wheelers, and proliferation of various types of intermediate public transport modes (three-wheeler autorickshaws and taxies). Focusing on Bus Transport Passenger mobility in urban India relies heavily on its roads. Although railbased transport services are available in a few megacities, they hardly play any role in meeting the transport demand in other million plus cities. Considering the .nancial health of various levels of governments (central, state, and local) and the investment required to improve the rail-based mass transport system, it is evident that bus transport will have to play a major role in providing passenger transport services in Indian cities in the future. It is amply clear that among the various modes of road based passenger transport, bus occupies less road space and causes There is need for a great variety of bus transport services in Indian cities. Given the

opportunity, people reveal widely divergent transport preferences, but in many places city authorities favor a basic standard of bus services. It is often thought to be inegalitarian to provide special services, such as guaranteed seats or express buses, in return for higher fares. In other words, variety is usually curbed. Government regulation and control have exacerbated the poor operational and financial performance of publicly owned urban transport undertakings, which are the main providers of bus transport services in Indian cities. As cost of operation rises, transport systems come under financial pressure to raise fares, but politicians are under pressure to keep fares at existing levels. Unless the system is subsidized, it has to eliminate some of its less pro.table or loss-making services. In a democracy, politicians are bound to yield to pressures from those whose services are threatened and to insist on maintaining money-losing operations. Due to this, transport undertakings .nd it di.cult to raise their revenue su.ciently enough to meet the cost of operation.5 In addition, they have to provide concessional travel facilities to various groups, such as freedom .ghters, journalists, students, besides paying a high level of di.erent kinds of taxes.6 It is becoming increasingly di.cult for loss-making urban transport undertakings to augment and manage their .eet,
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which in turn leads to poor operational performance and deterioration in quality of services. With few exceptions, publicly owned urban transport undertakings in India operate at higher unit costs than comparable transport operations controlled by the private sector. Kolkata provides an opportunity to make a direct comparison between privately owned and publicly owned bus systems. Public buses are operated by the Calcutta State Transport Corporation (CSTC), with a .fleet size of more than 1,250 buses and sta.ng ratio per operational bus of 11. CSTC has also been plagued by fare evasion estimated at more than 15 percent of revenue. As a result of low productivity and fare evasion, the system requires a huge subsidy since revenues cover less than half of the costs. 7 On the other hand, there are 1,800 private buses in the city. These buses are operated mainly by small companies or individual owners grouped into a number of route associations. Fares for private

and public bus services are the same. Despite the similarity in fare rates, private operators have been able to survive financially without any subsidy. Their success is attributed to high levels of productivity, which are re.ected in low sta.ng ratios and high .eet availability. Private bus operators in Kolkata, who hold almost twothirds of the market, play a major role in meeting the demand and thus substantially reduce the .nancial burden on the state government. Furthermore, publicly owned urban transport undertakings often lack the flexibility of organization, the ability to hire and .re sta., or the .nancial discretion needed to adapt to changing conditions. In such circumstances, a policy that encourages private participation in the provision of bus transport services should be welcomed. There is an urgent need for restructuring of the public transport system in Indian cities to enhance both quantity as well as quality of services. Enhancing Transport Coordination There is an urgent need for a transportation system that is seamlessly integrated across all modes. The various modes of public transport, including intermediate public transport, have to work in tandem. They should complement rather than involve themselves in cutthroat competition. Presently, di.erent agencies, independent of each other, are operating di.erent services in Indian cities. For example, in Delhi, metro rail is operated by Delhi Metro Rail Corporation Ltd, suburban rail service by Northern Railway, bus transport service by Delhi Transport Corporation, and taxi and auto-rickshaw by private operators. There is a lack of coordination among these agencies. Since the ultimate objective is to provide an adequate and e.cient transport system, there is a need to have a coordinating
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authority with the assigned role of coordinating the operations of various modes. This coordinating authority may be appointed by the central or state government and may have representatives from various stakeholders such as private taxi operators, bus operators, railways, and state government. The key objective should be to attain the integration of di.erent modes of transport to improve the e.ciency of service delivery and comfort for commuters. At the same time, a singleticket

system, where commuters can buy a transport ticket that is valid throughout the public transport network within the coordinating authoritys jurisdiction, should also be developed and promoted.

History

In ancient times, people often covered long distances on foot. For instance, the Adi Sankara traveled all over India. Even today it is not uncommon for people in rural areas to commute several kilometers every day. The use of buses is very popular for all classes of society. They are a cheap and easy mode of transport. The government is encouraging the people to use the bus since it reduces the number of vehicles on the road thus reducing traffic jams. Transportation itself is a word incomplete without the use of Vehicles the different vehicles which contribute to the move. The different modes are
Horse carriages

Palanquin
Bullock cart Cycle rickshaw Bicycles

Manually pulled rickshaw

Trams Local transport Buses Vans

Autorickshaws
Two-wheelers Cars Utility vehicles Metro Railways

Buses
Next only to railways, the most preferred long distance transport option for the public are the buses. Most of the state road transport corportations have buses which connect major cities and towns. There are private bus operators who run regular schedule of buses for connections between major cities and towns. Most long distance buses are scheduled during the night. Long distance travel in buses is quite common for distances up to 500 km. In some cases there are connections for distances like 1000 km (eg. Bangalore to Mumbai), with a travel time of 24 hours. With the advent of better buses (eg. Volvo's popular Volvo B7R) and better highways, road transport has become a fast and comfortable option for travellers.

A bus is a large automobile intended to carry numerous persons in addition to the driver and sometimes a conductor. The name is a shortened version of omnibus, which means "for everyone". History The omnibus, the first organized public transit system, may have originated in Nantes, France in 1826, when Stanislas Baudry, a retired army officer who had built public baths (run from the surplus heat from his flour mill) on the city's edge, set up a short stage line between the center of town and his baths. The service started on the Place du Commerce, outside the hat shop of M. Omns, who displayed the motto Omns Omnibus ("Omns for all") on his shopfront. When Baudry discovered that passengers were just as interested in getting off at intermediate points as in patronizing his baths, he shifted the stage line's focus. His new voiture omnibus ("carriage for all") combined the functions of the hired hackney carriage with the stagecoach that travelled a predetermined route from inn to inn, carrying passengers and mail. His omnibus featured wooden benches that ran down the sides of the vehicle; entry was from the rear. A Typical Bus Stop Buses are an intrinsic part of everyday life, and play an important part in the social fabric of many countries. Many urban public transportation systems rely on a bus network to provide services. Types of Bus

Bus services can generally be categorized into several different categories. Local transit buses provide public transit within a city or one or more counties. Intercity and interstate buses (often called interprovincials in other countries) provide transit specifically between cities, towns, rural areas, as well as between states. They generally provide far less stops than would be found on local bus routes. Greyhound Bus Lines and Trailways Transportation System are examples of interstate bus systems. Some local transit systems offer some intercity bus lines that provide transit from one city or town they service to nearby city or town served by another transit agency. Intercity bus services have become an important travel connection to smaller towns and rural areas that do not have airports or train service. A new phenomenon in intercity bus travel has been the Chinatown bus. Some public transit bus systems offer express bus service in addition to local bus lines. While local lines provide frequent stops along a route, express lines make far fewer stops in order to speed up the travel time between key destinations on the route. For example, an express bus line may provide speedier service between a local airport and the downtown area of a nearby city. Shuttle bus service provide transit service between two destinations, such as an airport and city center. Shuttle bus services are often provided by colleges, airports, shopping areas, companies, and amusement destinations. Tour bus service provides transit for tourists to see of notable sites by bus. City tour buses often simply pass by the sights while a tour narrator describes them while longer distance tour buses generally allow for passengers to disembark at each sight. Some places have buses that resemble streetcars in order to attract tourists or for other appearance purposes. A similar phenomenon is Duck Tours, which uses amphibious DUKWs converted into buses/cruise boats for tour purposes. School bus service provides transit to and from school for school students. Some private schools use school buses only for field trips or sports events. Some school systems, such as the San Francisco public school system, do not operate their own school bus system but instead rely on the local public transit bus system to provide transportation for the system. Charter bus operators, provide buses with properly licensed bus drivers for hire.

Decline of the intercity bus

With the continued increase in urbanization and automobile ownership rates, the usage of intercity bus services like Greyhound Lines has steadily decreased over the past several decades. Revenue problems for intercity fleets have necessitated government subsidies to continue operations. Many bus stops and routes to less populous destination have been shut down to lower operating costs.

bus stopA bus stop is a designated place where a public transport bus stops for the purpose of allowing passengers to board or leave the bus. The simplest kind can be just a sign saying "bus stop", or it can be a post with special colouring or other marks identifying it as a bus stop; however, line numbers and/or destinations are often indicated. The times the bus departs may be given, or the whole timetable, in what is known as a Guide-A-Ride box. A map of the bus lines and tariff information may be provided. Electronic signs may be present to tell real-time when the next bus will come, regardless of schedules; NextBus is one such system. An innovation in London is the addition of automatic terminals from which to buy tickets; these save time when boarding. There may be a shelter, a bench, lighting and a garbage receptacle. These components have the general term street furniture. There are two main kinds of stops:

Scheduled stop: The bus arrives at the stop at a set time, at which point it allows some or all passengers to disembark and lets those waiting at the stop board. It departs at another set time later. Request or flag stop: The bus does not come to a halt unless it is signalled to do so. Passengers may signal either by pressing a button or pulling a cord, or by verbally alerting the driver. A person waiting at the stop may be required to flag down the bus (no sign may be present), or his/her presence may be sufficient.

Major Bus Manuacturers

CONCLUSION
The costs of providing transportation services have risen, and funding sources have not kept pace with the increases. To continue to provide mobility to the public, it is essential to more fully use the transportation assets and resources available within the community. This need is even more critical in nonurban areas where public transportation is limited or nonexistent. The school bus has been identified as having potential for linkage with public transportation, because in most nonurban areas, school bus transportation is available where public transportation is limited or nonexistent. The majority of school bus transportation falls during 4 to 5 hours on week-days, during the school year. The remainder of the time, most of these fleets sit idle.

Conclusions
Transport systems are among the various factors a.ecting the quality of life and safety in a city. The urban transport situation in large cities in India is deteriorating. The deterioration is more prevalent in metropolitan cities where there is an excessive concentration of vehicles. Commuters in these cities are faced with acute road

congestion, rising air pollution, and a high level of accident risk. These problems cannot be solved without a concise and cogent urban transport strategy. The main objective of such a strategy should be to provide and promote sustainable high-quality links for people by improving the e.ciency and e.ectiveness of the citys transport systems. Policy should be designed in such a way as to reduce the need to travel by personalized modes and boost the public transport system. At the same time, demand-side as well as supply-side management measures should e.ectively be used. People should be encouraged to walk and cycle and government should support investments that make cycling and walking safer. Finally, there is a need to empower the Urban Local Bodies to raise .nances and coordinate the activities of various agencies involved in the provision of transport infrastructure in urban areas.

Endnotes
Publicly owned STUs in India provide bus transport services in almost every state of the country. During the year 200001, they operated with about 115,000 buses. As bus transportation is a state subject in India, they are owned and operated by respective state governments. 2 The urban population in India has increased signi.cantly from 62 million in 1951 to 285 million in 2001 and is increasing at a rate of 3 percent per year from last two decades. Consequently, the number of metropolitan cities with a population exceeding one million has increased from 5 in 1951 to 35 in 2001. 3 The role of cities in the national economy has been growing in importance, as the share of urban areas in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has grown from 50 percent in the early 1990s to 60 percent in 2000. Fast-growing cities in India have nurtured business and industry and have provided jobs and higher incomes. Thus, it is important that cities function e.ciently. 4 Two-wheelers include motorcycles, scooters, and mopeds. They are usually petrol-driven vehicles and available in both two- as well as four-stroke engines. Although engine capacity of two-wheelers in India varies from 60 cc for mopeds
1

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to 535 cc for motorcycles, most of them operate with an engine capacity of about 100 cc. 5 During the year 200102, publicly owned urban bus transport undertakings in India incurred an accumulated loss of about Rs. 5310 million which is equivalent to a loss of Rs. 4.25 per bus-km. 6 During the year 200102, on average, every bus operated by urban bus transport undertakings in India paid Rs. 53,000 in the form of motor vehicle tax, passenger tax, etc. 7 CSTC incurred a total cost of Rs. 1498 million whereas its total revenue was around Rs. 627 million during the year 200102. 8 Capital-intensive projects should be considered if and only if they are absolutely necessary. In many cases, instead of building underground railways or elevated highways, the government would have done better to have increased the capacity of existing bus services. Careful appraisal of capital-intensive projects should be performed before implementing them. 9 States are expected to devolve adequate powers, responsibilities, and .nances upon the ULBs so as to enable them to prepare plans and implement schemes for the development of urban areas. However, responsibility for giving it a practical shape rests with the states. States are expected to act in consonance with the spirit of the act for establishing a strong and viable system of local selfgovernment.

Renaissance in bus transportation The Gujarat State Road Transport Corporation , on the brink of closure just four or five years ago, is all set to make a comeback, thanks to its brand new fleet and modern outlook, he added that facilities like a new fleet, more bus stations and computerisation the employees and officials will have to change and improve their attitude towards duty and passengers besides developing a sense of belonging on par with their private sector counterparts limit to which the Government could help unions solve their problems. no parking zones primarily with the GSRTC staff. Incidentally, the area surrounding the central bus station at Gita Mandir, usually crowded by private buses and other vehicles, was cleared with cops ensuring that passengers were not lured away by private operators.

over 2,200 electronic ticketing machines on buses. 1,000 new buses were being inducted into the fleet.
Gujarat State Road Transport Corporation (GSRTC) is a public transport corporation providing bus services / Public transit within Gujarat and to the neighbouring states of Rajasthan, Madhyapradesh and Maharashtra. It also runs buses to the Union Teritories of Daman & Diu. GSRTC has total of approximately 9000 buses covering 16 divisions within the State of Gujarat GSRTC has got 7,900 buses, 1,600 hoardings and 1,400 pick-up stands

strategy
"Raise your hand and take a ride" facility for so many routes. GSRTC provides a variety of services as decribed below. Guess how the Gujarat State Road Transport Corporation (GSRTC) department will skirt pollution norms by decentralising the Gita Mandir terminus here! And this is how The GSRTC plans to have two satellite terminuses at Naroda and Subhash Bridge which are on the outskirts of the city. So these buses will not have to enter Ahmedabad which is governed by the Euro III pollution norms! Buses to and from Saurashtra side will originate and terminate at Subhash bridge while those going to North Gujarat will use the Naroda terminus. The bidding process started in February 2006 and saw participation by five agencies including Chitra Publicity and Pioneer. Sambhaav will commence work on GSRTC buses from April 15 onwards. The contract, Vadodaria said, is till 2011.

Political gimmicks of past governments had jeopardised the fate of Gujarat State Road Transport Corporation to such an extent that presently, the corporation sustains itself by auctioning scrap buses.

Mofussil Services : Connecting major cities, smaller towns and villages within Gujarat. Intercity bus services : Connecting major cities - Ahmedabad, Vadodara (Baroda) and Rajkot. Interstate bus services : Connecting various cities of Gujarat to the neighbouring states of Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Rajasathan. City services : Provides city bus services at Surat, Baroda, Rajkot, Gandhinagar-Ahmedabad within the state of Gujarat. Parcel Services : For transporting goods. Over and above these bus route services GSRTC also provides special bus route services for Festivals, Industrial zones, schools and colleges, pilgrim places. GSRTC buses are available to the public through contractual agreements special occassions. GSRTC also offers educational trips to the students

Advantage

 Please book your seat 15 minutes before the Bus departure time. Tickets for semi-luxury buses without conductor will be issued after the bus arrival. There is no gurantee on bus departure time. Large no. of offices to buy tickets GSRTC buses to have mobile phone facilities introduced an online bus tracking system and mobile phones in their buses to stifle competition from private bus operators Tickets will also be provided through Automatic Ticket Vending Machines

Disadvantage

Ticket cancellation money will be refunded immediately.

Gandhinagar city transit / Ghandhinagar public transportation - Gujarat

The transit in Gandhinagar is provided by the Gujarat State Road Transport Corporation. There are no separate bus services organization or corporation established just limited to Gandhinagar. Passengers can take GSRTC bus in order to travel from one sector in gandhinagar to another sector, or to goto the other state location.

Bangalore city transit / Bangalore public transportation - Karnataka

Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) provides an affordable way of transit in the Bangalore city. It is an undertaking of the Government of Karnataka. BMTC is the fourth biggest Public City Transport Corporation in India, catering the needs of passengers with cost effective and reliable public transportation

Chennai city transit / Ghandhinagar public transportation - Tamilnadu

Metropolitan Transport Corporation (MTC) provides public transportation facility in Chennai city. It has in its fleet about 2500+ buses carrying around 3 million passengers / commuters a day and has approximately 20+ depots. MTC is known for its affordable, reliable and cost effective public transportation system with areas serving within the Chennai city.
State & City Transportation By acronym

India public transportation Karnataka State Road Transport Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Assam State Transport Goa State Road Transport Gujarat State Road Transport Himachal Pradesh Road Transport Kerala State Road Transport Punjab State Road Transport Maharashtra State Road Transport Rajasthan State Road Transport Tamilnadu State Road Transport Jammu Kashmir State Road Transport Delhi Road Transport Uttar Pradesh State Road Transport Mizoram State Road Transport Arunachal Pradesh State Road Transport Orissa State Road Transport India transportation official websites India transportation abbreviation

KSRTC APSRTC DTC GSRTC PEPSU KTC JKSRTC RSRTC APSTS ASTC BSTDC MSRTC HRTC Kerala transportation MST OSRTC SETC UPSRTC Safe transportation India road transportation

Types of bus run on fuels

Biodiesel Buses Gujarat State Road Transport Corporation (GSRTC) has started using biodiesel in some GSRTC buses and the experiment has been quite successful (Gujarat is the first state to introduce blended fuel buses which use five per cent biodiesel with 95 per cent diesel). GSRTC launched four buses running on blended fuel. The emission levels have gone down and even the maintenance costs have reduced. Carbon monoxide levels have come down by 20 per cent. The levels of hydro carbons are also down and smoke level has come down by over 30 per cent. The price of biodiesel and diesel is the same. Blended fuel can be used in existing buses without any engine modification. Biodiesel, produced by Ankleshwar based Gujarat Oleo Chem Ltd., is supplied to GSRTC by Indian Oil Corporation (IOC). Threat Private mini-bus operators are making roaring business by picking up passengers right in front of the Central bus station near Astodia gate, while the authorities of Gujarat State Road Transport Corporation (GSRTC) can do little about that due to legal handicaps. Passengers find it cheaper and faster to travel by these buses. The operators dont have to pay a passenger tax and it is here that the GSRTC is at a disadvantage against these operators, Weakness
Naroda that happens to be Asias biggest government workshop. Officials add that GSRTC has not been able to manufacture a single new bus since last two years due to empty coffers.

History of Best
The Bombay Tramway Company Limited was formally set up in 1873. The Mumbai Municipality was given the right to buy up the concern after the first 25 years or after every period of 7 years thereafter. After this contract was entered into between the Bombay Tramway Company and the Municipality, the Government of Mumbai enacted the Bombay Tramways Act, 1874, under which the Company was licenced to run a tramway service in the city. The tram-cars were of two kinds-those drawn by one horse and those drawn by two. In 1905, a newly formed concern, The Bombay Electric Supply

& Tramways Company Limited bought the Bombay Tramway Company and the first electrically operated tram-car appeared on Mumbais roads in 1907. The passing years aggravated the problem of rush-hour traffic and to ease the situation, double decker trams were introduced in September, 1920. Mumbai saw its first bus run on 15th July, 1926. The people of Mumbai received the bus with enthusiasm, but it took quite sometime before this means of conveyance really established itself. For several years, it was looked upon as transport for the upper middle classes. Those were the days when the tram was the poor mans transport, carried one all the way from Sassoon Dock to Dadar for a mere anna and a half, that was nine paise. The bus fare for the same journey was four annas, that is 25 paise. In response to the pleas made by the Government and the Brihan Mumbai Mahanagarpalika, the Company extended its services to the northern part of the city in 1934. Double deck buses were introduced in 1937 in order to cope better with the growing traffic. The first Limited Bus service in Mumbai, and probably the first in the country as well, started running in 1940 between Colaba and Mahim. Pursuant to the option given to it under the Deed of Concession granted to the Bombay Electric Supply and Tramways Co.Ltd, the Brihan Mumbai Mahanagarpalika acquired on 7th August,1947, the assets of the combined Undertaking, namely the operation of tramways and distribution of electricity in the city of Mumbai as a going concern. By mutual agreement, the Corporation also took over the operation of the bus services, which was run by the B.E.S & T Company Ltd. Thus, the Bombay Electric Supply and Transport Company was municipalised and came to be known as Bombay Electric Supply & Transport Undertaking . The Undertaking has completed 50 years of its municipalisation on 7th August, 1997. The city of Mumbai has grown from a small trading center 50 years ago to be rightly called the first commercial capital of India. In almost all spheres of human activity. Mumbai has so many firsts to its credit. Likewise the Brihan Mumbai Electric Supply & Transport Undertaking, popularly known as BEST has scored many firsts in the country's life and established many records. The intricacies of Mumbais transport system can easily baffle any new comer from the countryside. To use a figure of speech, the city inhales and exhales through the BEST bus services. The changeover from horse driven trams to buses has been spectacular. When the Corporation took over the Company in 1947, there were 242 buses in operation on 23 routes and these buses carried 2.38 lakh passengers per day. At present, there are 3380 buses carrying 45 lakhs passengers daily on 335 routes. Special transport arrangements are made and extra buses under various Action Plans are operated during the year on various social/ religious occasions. The Undertakings also pays special attention to operate extra buses to clear the stranded passenger traffic on account of dislocation of Railways, heavy rains and similar such events. The Undertaking also operates extra buses on Saturdays, Sundays and Holidays to clear the excursion traffic at

various picnic points. The undertaking has been endeavouring to ease the journey of lady passengers, particularly working women by introducing Ladies First buses at various points where the ladies are given priority while boarding the bus at the starting point. Faster clearance of traffic in the mega polis of Mumbai with less number of vehicles has been receiving attention for sometime. It is with this background that the Undertaking has introduced Vestibule buses as a part of its fleet on the eve of Golden Jubilee. Since these buses carry about 110 passengers each, they clear the passenger traffic faster, particularly during the peak hours. The undertaking has been fully conscious of the alarming levels of pollution in cities. With modern and reliable technology, the Undertaking has been making constant efforts not only to keep pollution level under control, but minimise it. Keeping this view in mind, the Undertaking has introduced CNG buses, i.e. buses run on Compressed Natural Gas in the Golden Jubilee year. CNG run buses being almost pollution free as compared to the Diesel run buses, their introduction on Mumbai roads has proved to be a boon in the realm of Public Transport. The Undertaking has a well-equipped Training Center for the traffic staff and designed program to re-educate them on such relevant topics as fuel conservation, safety measures, behaviour with the public etc. Training is also imparted in Refresher Courses to improve driving habits of the drivers under which officers check the habits of drivers constantly and as a result of which there is a great reduction in accidents. In the Refresher Courses, the stress is on an image revamp from a mere BEST employee to a concerned individual who cares for passenger comfort. The accident-prevention wing of the BEST has an accident prevention van with safety slogans and equipped with instructive audiovisual programs. As regards BESTs electric supply side, in the year 1905, the B.E.S.& T Co.Ltd., commenced the supply of electrical energy by erecting its own generating station with a total capacity of 4,300 KW. This was later abandoned in favour of a station of larger capacity constructed in 1912 at Kussara Basin. This station was closed down in 1925, after which all the Companys requirements were obtained in bulk from M/s. Tata Hydro Electric Power Supply Co.Ltd, With the growth of the electrical distribution system, difficulties were experienced in the maintenance of the electrical pressure within the prescribed statutory limits. The Company than decided to establish two High Voltage Receiving Stations at Grant Road, and Apollo where large bulk supply transformers provided with on-load tap changing equipment had to be installed for maintaining regulated voltage at the consumers premises. These two new stations were, however, actually commissioned in 1949, i.e. after the B.E.S. & T Co.Ltd., was acquired by the Municipal Corporation. In 1947, the Undertaking supplied electricity to 1,08,241 consumers through 247 sub stations. Today, it caters to 8,20,000 consumers through 1,773 substations. Street lamps in those days numbered 2,215 between Colaba to Mahim and Sion. Today, it provides electricity on streets through 34,764 street lamps. It is a well-known fact that the municipal limits of Mumbai were extended from time to time to cover more and more suburban areas and the BEST had to expand its bus services to cater to the entire

municipal area. However, the electricity supply of BEST was restricted to the old city area which is equal to about 75 sq.kms.Nevertheless, BEST has been endeavouring to give its services to the electric consumers by way of guaranteed electric supply. The consumers are so used to the service that even an interruption of a few minutes is resented by them. The supply is restored within the shortest possible time as the BEST is well-equipped with latest fault-locating and testing instruments and highly skilled staff. The Undertaking has always been foremost in adopting technical innovations in its day to day functions. One such project is that of digitisation of records of underground cables. The Undertaking has planned a digitization project where the land base and data of underground cable network, equipments, substations and loads would be digitized. This would be of immense help not only in the location of cable faults which would reduce interruption time, but also computer-aided design of electricity distribution system with minimum distribution losses. Under this programme, it is proposed to digitize 5,000 kms., cable network of BEST. Presently, 800 city survey maps are updated manually to incorporate the changes regarding cable services, joints etc. This will be computerized totally which will help to get underground and overground information at any point in the area of supply easily. Another important scheme is of electronic meters. There are about 9 lakh meters, most of which are electro-magnetic type. However, in view of the errors in such meters and corresponding loss in the revenue, they are being replaced in phases by electronic meters which are more accurate. The Undertaking has also undertaken schemes to computerize the Consumers and Commercial departments of the Electric Supply Division and to decentralize most of the consumer/commercial services at all levels. These schemes will prove to be a boon for the consumers who will be able to solve most of the problems in connection with the grant of new connection, additional load, redressal of other grievances in regard to high bills, change of name etc; through a single window redressal system. This is another important step in the Undertakings march towards ever improving heights of excellence.

punchline

Bus Transport Profile

Mumbai the capital of Maharashtra, worldwide known as the commercial capital of India, is a cluster of seven islands spread over a vast area of 430 sq.kms. It's western borders reaching upto Dahisar and Eastern borders upto Mulund. Significantly contributing to the industrial development of India, this city has it's 'Arteries' in the form of Central and Western Railways. Not less importantly than that, BEST's Bus Service running across the vast area of Brihan Mumbai limits, can be very well called the blood vessels of this metropolis. Facilities Provided by BUS:-

BEST believes that it has a social obligation towards the city where it has grown. As such it is felt essential to provide concession to certain sections of society. A few schemes are listed below. Free Travel Facility: Presently, the BEST provides free travel facility to the freedom fighters. One person accompanying the freedom fighter is also permitted to travel free. Municipal Councilors and Non-Councilor Members of the BEST Committee are also permitted to travel free on BEST buses. Adhoc Members of Legislative Assembly and Legislative Council, accompanied by his wife and Female Members accompanied by any one viz. husband, son, daughter, father, mother, brother or sister are allowed to travel free on BEST buses. Police personnel are allowed to travel free on BEST buses against an adhoc payment of compensation towards free travel facility by the Government of Maharashtra. This facility of free travel however is not available on Luxury and AirConditioned services. Concessional Fare: Children below 12 years of age are charged concessional fare. Student studying upto Higher Secondary and upto the age of 22 years are charged concessional fare. Persons who are 60 % and above, permanently Orthopaedically handicapped are charged concessional fare. Blind persons are charged a flat fare of Re.1/per journey. Concessional fare facility is not available on Luxury and Air-Conditioned Services. Public Cash Counters For Distribution of 5 Rupee Coins For the benefit of general public, coins in the denominations of Rs. 5/-, in exchange of notes in the denominations of Rs.50/- or Rs.100. are made available by the Undertaking, at all the Depots. The timings for this are 10.00hrs to 15.00 hrs, on all working days. Special Counters are also opened at the following places for the same:

. Bandra Bus Station (West) . Andheri Bus Station (West) . Agarkar Chowk Bus Station, Andheri (East)
Reservation of Seats: The BEST has reserved 3 seats for handicapped person , 2 seats for Senior Citizens and 6 seats for lady passengers in the Single Decker buses. In the Double Decker buses it has reserved 3 seats each for lady passengers and handicapped persons and 2 seats for Senior Citizens. Front Door Entry: The BEST have permitted physically and mentally handicapped persons, senior citizens, and expectant mothers to board the bus from the front door except at starting point. Passenger Refund Claims: In case the conductor does not have enough change to return the balance of the passenger, he writes on the back of the ticket the amount of balance due and authenticates the same. Such a ticket is treated as a receipt by the BEST. The passenger can claim the balance amount from Ticket & Cash Department, head office at Wadala after producing the ticket.

Disaster Management: In the event of disruption of rail services the BEST operates additional buses in the area of disruption. Timely actions are taken with the help of our communication system. Lost Property: The lost property section of the Transport Division is in existence prior to the municipalisation of the BEST Undertaking in the year 1947. Initially the Lost Property section was at Colaba Depot, Transport House and it was subsequently shifted to 2nd floor of Wadala Depot, Administrative Building with effect from 01/02/1980. As per Act 132(4) of Bombay Motor Vehicle Rules 1959 (New rule 122 of Maharshtra Motor Vehicles Rules 1989), the Lost Properties were required to be handed over to the Police Department, However the BEST Undertaking has been exempted from the provision of rule 132(4), and therefore all such articles are deposited in the Lost Property Section of the Undertaking vide notification issued by Home Department No MVR.1859/69814-XII date 07.10.1959. The working of the Lost Property Section is given below: The articles found by the conductor or any other member of staff in the bus or in the premises of the Undertaking are handed over to the nearest Bus Terminus Starter, who sent it to the concerned Depot. These articles are then forwarded to the Lost Property Section. On receipt of such articles from Depots to Lost Property Section the same are entered in the register maintained for the purpose, after bifurcating them as per their category. Whenever any claimant approaches immediately to the Bus terminus / Bus Chowkey where the article is deposited, then the articles are issued to the claimant by the officer on duty after due verification and taking necessary charges as per the administrative order. The particulars of charges to be recovered as per Administrative Order Number 304 dated 06/02/2003 from claimant are as under:
Registration Charges For Cash and Sundry Articles For Valuable and Semi Valuable Articles For Outside Parties Rs.10/Rs.50/For Employees Rs.5/Rs.25/-

Storage charges are only applicable for cash deposited and collected only after 3 days from the date of lost.
Storage Charges For Cash Deposited Upto Rs.100/For Cash Deposited From Rs.101/- to Rs.500/For Cash Deposited From Rs.501/- to Rs.2000/For Cash Deposited From Rs.2001/- to Rs.5000/For Cash Deposited above For Outside Parties Rs.3/- Per Day, Maximum Rs.10/12/% of the Cash and Maximum of Rs.60/12/% of the Cash and Maximum of Rs.200/12/% of the Cash and Maximum of Rs.300/12/% of the Cash and For Employees 50% concession 50% concession 50% concession 50% concession 50% concession

Rs.5001/-

Maximum of Rs.750/-

Whenever any claimant approaches Lost Property Section at Wadala Depot, the articles are issued only after confirming the Identity and genuineness of claimant on verification of residential proof such as ration card, passport, election voting identity card or driving license of the claimant. In case of higher amount or valuable ornaments, the claimant has to obtain No Objection Certificate from concerned police authorities. After verification and receiving necessary charges, articles are handed over to the claimant. Traffic outdoor staff has been strictly prohibited from handing over any Lost Property articles directly to the claimant. However, the concerned Traffic Officers can issue such articles at the Depots after satisfying themselves as to the authenticity of the claimant and charging necessary charges as applicable. The cash or valuable articles (Gold or Silver Ornaments) received in the Lost Property Section is kept in the section for one month, and there after deposited at the Undertaking Cash department for safe custody. In case of foreign currency deposited in the Lost Property section the same is deposited with our Cash Department at Dadar for further disposal. Perishable articles such as vegetables, ready food etc is disposed off on the same day at the depots by auction in the presence of Traffic Officers. The other perishable articles such as sugar, tea powder, oil, and talcum powder etc are kept for 10 days in the Lost Property section and then disposed off, by auction in the presence of officers, and auditor. Medicines are kept for one month and then disposed off. Unclaimed lost property articles (Semi valuable, and sundry) are sent to Oshiwara Scrap yard after one month for further disposal by way of auction. A letter of appreciation is issued to the member of staff who deposits lost property articles. If the value of the article deposited is Rs.2000/- or more then the concerned member of staff is recommended for cash reward / appreciation letter to be given on BEST Din. AUTOMATIC FARE COLLECTION SYSTEM BEST has already implemented the Automatic Fare Collection System through Contactless SMARTCARDS, on its Special Routes in the CBD Area in South Mumbai. This scheme is being implemented as a pilot project, with the help of M/s A little .world. BEST is planning to introduce this system on its entire operational network COMPRESSED NATURAL GAS BUS The demand for petroleum products in India has been increasing at a rate higher than the increase in domestic availability. At the same time there is continuous pressure on emission control through periodically tightened regulations particularly for metropolitan cities. In the wake of this situation there is an urgent need to promote use of alternative fuel as substitute for HSD. Among the options Compressed Natural Gas has received a great deal of attention and has been already applied successfully to some of the BEST buses (first time in India). The BEST is planning to increase the strength of CNG buses in .its fleet CNG can be used in the existing SI/CI engines with minor modifications.

 Availability in abundance. CNG is a clear burning fuel, with no black smoke and very low particulate emissions. Thus CNG engine is environmental friendly. CNG being lighter than air, diffuses upwards. CNG is very safe fuel due to its very narrow flammability limits. Excellent knock resistant, lower compression ratio. Lower rates of pressure rise and low peak cylinder pressures. Low noise level of the engine. This will add to passenger comfort. ARTICULATED SINGLE DECK BUS (VESTIBULE BUS) BEST has introduced these buses to have economical bus operation and different modes of transport to carry more passengers particularly in peak hours. More buses would be .introduced in a phased manner Overall Length: 15.485 meters (would be increased to 16 meters) Overall Width: 2.6 meter. Turning Circle Dia: 2.04 meter. A/C LUXURY BUS In an honest effort to attract the private vehicle owners to BEST buses and thereby reduce the congestion to some extent on Mumbai city roads, which affects the mobility of vehicles, BEST has introduced 51 Air-conditioned buses. The salient features of these -: buses are Luxury seats with soft transo fabric. Completely Air-conditioned passenger saloon (for A/C Buses) Carpeted flooring Jack-knife doors at entrance and exit Wide corridor for easy movement. Stanchion bars for safe movement in the corridor (for Luxury Buses) Thermocole stuffing between inner and outer panelling to reduce saloon temperature and dampen the vibrations. LOW FLOOR BUSES We have received demands from various section of the society, who are working for the welfare of physically handicapped, regarding need for introducing Low Floor buses in the city of Mumbai. In response to these demands and suggestion, BEST has launched the trial run of Low Floor buses provided by TELCO AND ASHOK LEYLAND. This trial is for 6 month, Initially these buses are operated in the CBD, and suburban area of the mumbai City. AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION BUSES The continuous movement of left foot for operation of clutch and left hand for gearshift lever also adds to the driver fatigue. The BEST has introduced buses with Allison .Automatic Transmission on the roads of the Mumbai City (AUTOMATIC FARE COLLECTION - SMARTCARD (GO Mumbai

In a move to aid commuter convenience, and to mitigate its cash handling pains, BEST, 'Mumbai's Lifeline' has adopted a new alternative method of paying for bus fares. From 19th November 2004, Route Special 8 plying from Churchgate to World Trade Centre has started accepting contact-less smart cards for Automatic Fare Collection in BEST buses. The multi-application card system is called "GO Mumbai". The Phase 1 of the .system will cover about 760 buses by middle of 2005 The project is additionally supported by Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL), ICICI Bank and is implemented by a Consortium of companies led by A.Little.World Private Limited. The principal technology provider for the system is ERG Transit Systems, the global leader in this field. ERG has implemented similar Automated Fare Collection systems in Singapore and HongKong and a number of other cities in US, Europe and Australia, where ERG is based. HongKong's Octopus system implemented by ERG is the world's largest AFC system with 8 million cards in active use and about 8 - 10 million transactions performed every day. The devices are manufactured indigenously in .India in technical collaboration with ERG Fare Collection Devices will be installed at the entry and exit doors of BEST buses. The cardholder will present the GO card to this device at the start of the journey by touching it to the device or bringing it within a few centimeters of the device. The card can even be kept in the wallet and the wallet can be touched to the device. The proximity between the card and the device is to be maintained for less than half a second. If the card is valid and has balance, the device will give an audible beep, a green light, and display ENTRY VALID sign and show the present balance on the card. The same process will have to be repeated at the end of the journey at the exit. The fare will be calculated automatically, .deducted from the card and balance after deduction will be displayed to the user The stage changes for automatic and accurate computation of the bus location will be carried out automatically in this high-tech system through the satellite based Global Position System, which is implemented in each bus carrying the GO system. In addition, a wireless system automatically downloads the bus data carrying the daily payment .details to the depot computer when the bus enters the depot at the end of the shift .A Bus Control Unit is installed next to the driver for easy management of the system This cashless ticket payment system will reduce BEST's costs of printing paper tickets and handling literally tones of small coins and notes every day. The system will reduce the load on overworked conductors, and provide BEST greater flexibility in fare structuring in the future. For commuters it provides a clear value of everyday convenience of not having to deal with small notes and coins or not having exact change .to pay for a bus ticket ON LINE TICKET ACCOUNTING SYSTEM To reduce the workload and smoothen the system of collecting and counting traffic .earnings at Depots, this system is implemented

System Concept This system is designed to accept the money from the conductors across the counter. In the beginning of the day the conductor is issued a pre-printed ticket memo (Way Bill). The opening serial numbers of the ticket blocks are printed on the respective conductors ticket memo. At the end of the day the amount of sale of ticket is accepted at the counter .after processing the closing serial numbers. The transaction data is updated accordingly INTEGRATED NETWORK SYSTEM To maintain uniformity in the operational level working of the depots, Local Area .Network system is installed at the depots The Online Ticket Account System will be inter linked with this system for faster .communication of the information ROUTE NETWORK INFORMATION THROUGH MOBILE PHONES

The users of Reliance and TATA mobile services can now get the information of our entire route network on their mobile phones. The Undertaking has teamed-up with these two mobile service providers for helping its esteemed commuters, to reach to their .desired locations TRAINING Training is given to the end users, to carry out day to day activities on the application .software systems

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in population natural increase and migration from rural areas