Click to enlarge

When the wet-lease system was adopted by BEST to reduce its capital expenditure, operators were supposed to bring their own bus fleet and drivers. Over the last few weeks, however, the entire purpose seems to have been defeated, with BEST supplying drivers on its payroll to wet-lease operators facing a shortage…BEST has also been fighting with bus manufacturers to supply new buses periodically and maintain the schedule. This, however, has not come to pass. Mahesh Babu, CEO of Switch Mobility, which was supposed to manufacture and supply 200 AC double-decker e-buses to BEST, said, “Switch Mobility has already successfully delivered 50 double-deckers to BEST that are fully operational. However, a regulatory change implemented in 2023 requires significant modifications in product development and homologation, which in turn, has increased the overall cost of manufacturing and operations. As per the tender agreement terms, if there is any change in the product specifications, manufacturers are permitted to approach the authority to request amendments.’’