Mumbai, July 30 -- Once called Mumbai's second lifeline after suburban trains, the Brihanmumbai Electricity Supply and Transport Undertaking's (BEST's) pulse has significantly dropped over the last few years. And it is set to take a further hit, with as many as 180 buses running on CNG reaching the end of their lifespan in the next six to eight months, officials said. Meanwhile, new buses aren't being added to the fleet quickly enough. BEST currently has around 2,670 buses in its fleet, of which it owns just 430. The rest are on wet leases-owned, operated, and maintained by private contractors appointed by BEST. Of the 430 owned buses, 180 running on CNG are nearing their codal life of 15 years. The remaining six electric buses and 244 running on diesel will continue to operate, officials said, adding that BEST will only procure electric buses on wet lease from now on. "We will be getting at least five buses from PMI Electro Mobility in a fortnight or so," said a senior BEST official. "We asked them to supply at least 50 buses. We have also held meetings and written reminder letters to other bus manufacturers to hasten the process of supplying buses, as it is going on at a slow pace." Gurugram-based manufacturer PMI Electro Mobility is supposed to supply 250 12-metre-long, single-decker AC buses to BEST in phases. Hyderabad-based Olectra Greentech, which is supposed to supply 2,100 electric buses, has also been asked to expedite the process, officials said. Executives from Olectra told HT that the company delivered 102 electric buses to BEST across June and July. "Olectra has delivered over 665 buses [as of 15 days ago], with nearly 150 buses added recently and 370 buses added since January 2025. Our target for the next month is to deliver 100 buses per month," said an Olectra executive, requesting anonymity. Meanwhile, in a recent meeting, BEST asked Chennai-based Switch Mobility to resume the supply of double-decker AC e-buses that it has stalled since December 2023, or else it will be forced to blacklist the company, officials said. BEST's double-decker AC e-bus fleet has remained at 50 since December 2023. The company was supposed to supply 200 buses during this period, but there is an issue over the per-kilometre rate decided between Switch Mobility and BEST, said an official. When HT reached out to Switch Mobility, the company said it needs time to respond. Officials also said that the BEST's parent organisation, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), is not providing it enough grants. In its 2025-26 budget, the civic body had set aside Rs.1,000 crore for BEST. Since 2012-13, it has granted Rs.11,304.59 crore to the undertaking. "However, this is not enough. We continue to write to the BMC requesting them to provide grants for the purpose of procuring buses on wet lease," said a BEST official. As BEST struggles to cater to its 3 million daily passengers, citizen groups and bus passenger associations are planning to protest against issues such as the recently announced fare hike, the privatisation of BEST and the monetisation of depot land. Aamchi Mumbai Aamchi BEST (AMAB), a citizens' group focused on public transport, will hold a protest at all 27 BEST depots on August 7, the undertaking's anniversary. "We want an affordable, safe, and comfortable public transport that is a right of all citizens," said Jagnarayan Kahar, a member of AMAB. "This is a call for all Mumbaikars to unite in order to save and revive BEST as an essential public service. We will hand over our demands to the depot managers at these 27 depots."...