When Mumbai’s iconic red fleet took city on road to recovery

As the pandemic haunted Mumbai, the city’s iconic red fleet – BEST buses – ferried healthcare workers. After lockdown eased, it carried over a million people going to work even as its own staff battled the disease
It’s 3 am when Ashish Khilari leaves for the morning shift. He kisses his five-year-old son goodbye and dons his face shield, mask and gloves before stepping out into the pre-dawn darkness on a street in Kalbadevi in the heart of Mumbai’s commercial district.

Among the thousands of essential workers commandeered for duty, Khilari, 30, works for a team that literally keeps the wheels of a metropolis moving.The 2,000 drivers and conductors who operate the BEST fleet kept the transport utility running even at the height of the lockdown. At a time when local trains, taxis, autos and ride-hailing services came to a halt, Mumbai’s iconic red buses were on the roads, carrying healthcare and government staff.
“We were operating just 1,200 to 1,500 buses during the worst days of the lockdown. Now the fleet has doubled and we have brought out 3,100 buses to ensure the city keeps moving," says Khilari.

Gradually scaling up services, BEST has regained nearly a third of its patronage. From transporting 60,000-80,000 essential workers in April and May, ridership rose when offices and shops reopened in June, going up to 2.5 lakh by mid-June. Now, it has touched more than a million, with no compromises on social distancing – not more than 25 seated passengers are allowed and standing commuters are restricted to five.

The recovery has exacted a toll. A section of BEST’s workforce has been infected, landing them in quarantine or hospital. "But we are soldiering on to bring back services for the common man,'' said BEST spokesperson Manoj Varade.
The effort is as much driven by individual enterprise as by collective drive. Bus inspector Ramchandra Shinde, who retired on May 31, despite being Covid positive and having recovered a few days ahead of retirement, was in his seat for the last four days.

“I wanted to give a message that we will keep running buses against all odds,'' he said.
This spirit of service prompted workers to even ignore a strike call by union leaders. Vaidehi Ankolekar, 43, one of 15 women conductors in BEST, said she would keep working despite risk of infection. “It is a responsibility to ensure commuters reach workplaces on time and safely,” she said.

(This story is part of a series in association with Facebook. Facebook has no editorial role in this story.)