India, Jan. 2 -- Buses operated by the Brihanmumbai Electricity Supply and Transport (BEST) Undertaking have been involved in 958 accidents between January 2023 and December 2025, leading to the death of 77 people and leaving another 217 injured, data from the undertaking shows.

While accidents increased substantially in 2025, with the first 11 months logging 606 major and minor accidents, an overwhelming majority of mishaps (582) involved buses operated by BEST under the wet lease model, where vehicles and staff are sourced via contracts. The accident in Bhandup on Monday which left four people dead also involved a wet lease bus, though the driver, currently under police custody, was a BEST staffer.

Wet lease buses, in fact, accounted ...