brihanmumbai electric supply and transport undertaking founded 1905 as best co. ltd. bombay electric supply & tramways best company ltd 1947 as best undertaking bombay electric supply and transport undertaking best headquarters electric house colaba mumbai locale mumbai metropolitan region service area mumbai city navi mumbai thane mira bhayandar service type local limited special express air conditioned bus services brts ferry boat routes ordinary bus limited bus express bus a.c. bus 14 brts 4 ferry service 1 1 depots 27 fleet 3 600 2 daily ridership 3.3 million 3 fuel type diesel cng operator b.e.s.t undertaking general manager dr jagdish patil 4 website www.bestundertaking.com the transport wing of brihanmumbai electric supply and transport undertaking best undertaking operates a large number of bus services in the mumbai metropolitan area . these buses are called best or best bus . best bus serves the entire mumbai city . it has operations outside city limits into neighboring navi mumbai thane and mira bhayandar . in addition to buses it operates a ferry service in the northern reaches of the city . 1 the present best undertaking was started as an electric supply company which then branched out to provide bus and tram services . in 1964 electric trams were terminated due to high operational costs and poor public support . 5 contents 1 history 1.1 origins 1.2 bombay tramway company limited 1.3 formation of the bombay electric supply & tramways company limited 1.3.1 electric tram 1.4 introduction of motor bus 1.5 formation of best undertaking 2 operations 2.1 bus routes 3 fare 3.1 single journey fares 3.2 go mumbai smart card 3.2.1 distance wise bus pass 3.2.2 prepaid rfid smart card 3.3 zonal pass 4 depot and fleet 5 bus tracking and next stop information 6 best transport museum 7 organisation 8 references 9 footnotes 10 external links history edit origins edit the idea of a mass public transport system for mumbai was first put forward in 1865 by an american company which applied for a licence to operate a horse drawn tramway system . although a licence was granted the project was never realized owing to the prevailing economic depression in the city . the end of the american civil war during which bombay had made vast strides in its economy by supplying cotton and textiles to the world market was the reason for the economic downturn . on 27 november 1871 a notice in the times of india newspaper by the bombay omnibus service proposed a bus service between malabar hill and fort . however the proposed monthly pass fare of 30 pounds proved to be too expensive and the tender was promptly abandoned . 6 bombay tramway company limited edit in 1873 the bombay tramway company limited was given the licence to operate trams in the city . the bombay municipal corporation bmc was given the right to purchase the company after first twenty years or after every seven years thereafter . 6 in 1874 the bombay tramways act was enacted after the contract was formally signed between the municipality and the company to start such a tramway service . on 9 may 1874 the company started with horse drawn tram of two kinds on road those drawn by one horse and those drawn by two . service was introduced on two routes colaba to pydhoni via crawford market and bori bunder to pydhoni via kalbadevi with a fleet of 20 cars and 200 horses . the municipality could have taken over the company in 1894 as stipulated by the contract but it waived the right and the bombay tramway company limited was given extension till 1901 . in 1899 the company applied to run its tram cars on electricity . it also filed a plea that considering heavy expenditure the company will occur the municipality should waive its right of taking it over in 1901 . even before the application was disposed of the municipality decided to exercise its right to take over the company . in 1905 the bombay electric supply & tramways company limited b.e.s. & t co. ltd. bought the bombay tramway company limited . 7 because it was an unfamiliar vehicle and high fare the tram car was not at first received with the enthusiasm shown for the railway . the company brought down the fare and made special effort to persuade the public that tram was cheap fast and smooth . when it closed down in 1905 it had as many as 1 360 horses . 6 formation of the bombay electric supply & tramways company limited edit mumbai first electric tram car began operations in 1907 . in 1905 a newly formed concern the bombay electric supply & tramways company limited b.e.s. & t co.ltd bought the bombay tramway company limited 6 and the first electrically operated tram car appeared on mumbai s roads in 1907 . 7 b.e.s.t. company limited had been established in england under the companies act . its registered office was in london and its board of management met there . as a result the company had to pay income tax to the british exchequer on the profits it earned in india . as it was registered in mumbai it had to pay a similar tax in india . to avoid double taxation the board of directors closed the company in london . establishing a new company in bombay the company s capital in pound sterling was converted to corresponding value in rupees . 7 electric tram edit b.e.s. & t co. ltd. placed an order for the city s first electric tram car with the brush electrical company of london . the vehicle arrived in mumbai in january 1906 . the service was formally inaugurated on 7 may 1907 by the chairman of the municipality . the inaugural service ran between municipal office building and crawford market . regular services started from next day . unlike the horse drawn tram the electric tram drew praise from public for its comfort and low fare . 6 the upper class in the tram cars was removed after some time . by 1910 the company faced rush hour traffic during office hours and there were not enough trams to cope with the office goers . the company asked for permission to run a triple car and allow standees ; the first was reject and later discontinued in 1914 . 6 double decker electric trams were introduced in september 1920 to ease rush hour traffic . to handle rush hour traffic double decker trams were introduced on mumbai s roads in september 1920 . 6 introduction of motor bus edit the city s first bus started operations in 1926 . in 1913 there was debate in the mumbai municipality whether to introduce trolley buses or motor buses to supplement the tramway service in the city . the main factor against its introduction was the high accident rate for a similar service in london . on 10 february 1926 the b.e.s. & t. company bombay electric supply & tramways company limited introduced three routes on experimental basis . on 15 july 1926 24 single deck buses started operating on three routes afghan church to the crawford market dadar tram terminus to king s circle via parsi colony and opera house to lalbag via lamington road and arthur road . despite stiff opposition and protests by taxi drivers the service ran without a hitch transporting six lakh 600 000 passengers by the end of that year . the following year the number had increased to 3.8 million . the trams meanwhile because of their lower fares were relegated to being a poor man s transport . by 1927 b.e.s.t. company had a fleet of 49 buses . 8 in march 1930 concessional rates were introduced on short journeys which attracted more passengers . car owners quickly embraced the cheap public transport . in response to the pleas made by the government and the bombay municipal corporation the company extended its services to the northern part of the city in 1934 . in 1937 double decker buses were introduced to cope better with the growing traffic . the single deck vehicle carried 36 passengers ; the double decker could take as many as 58 . the first limited bus service in mumbai and probably the first in the country as well started running in 1940 between colaba and mahim . 9 formation of best undertaking edit one of the terms of the agreement of 7 august 1905 between the bombay municipal corporation and the bombay electric supply & tramways company limited b.e.s. & t. company gave the bombay municipality the right to buy the company at the end of forty two years . it was also laid down that if the right was exercised on 7 august 1947 the municipality would have to pay forty lakh rupees as goodwill in addition to the agreed price of the company s assets . the right to buy the b.e.s.t. company did not cover its bus service which had been granted a permit by the commissioner of police under the provisions of the motor vehicles act . however the act did not stop the bombay municipal corporation from starting its own bus service . the municipality discussed the matter with government at pune . the government had been contemplating taking over all the road transport in the state . the mumbai bus transport was not an exception unless it was acquired by the municipal corporation . on 21 october 1946 the municipal corporation decided to buy the bombay electric supply & tramways company with its bus transport section . on 18 april 1947 the general manager of the b.e.s.t. company offered to sell the b.e.s.t. company along with its bus transport section to the corporation but required an amount equal to twenty per cent of the value of the bus transport section be paid to the company as goodwill . but this demand was rejected in view of the government s policy of nationalising transport . however the payment of goodwill was accepted in principle . the corporation acquired the b.e.s.t. company total assets for 6 35 00 000 . on 7 august 1947 the municipal corporation took over the b.e.s. & t. company ltd and it was municipalised to form the bombay electric supply and transport undertaking which was again renamed to brihanmumbai electric supply and transport undertaking b.e.s. & t undertaking in 1995 . 10 best celebrates 7 august annually as best day . post independence best increased its fleet from 242 to 582 buses over the next decade . in 1949 it took over the bandra bus company which used to ply buses in the western suburbs . 1 the company launched its services in the eastern suburbs in january 1955 . the eastern suburbs was serviced by private bus operators . that year the undertaking and private operators went to court with the best asking for a complete closure of the private companies . the case dragged on for four years before the supreme court of india granted the organization a complete monopoly over bus services in the greater bombay area . 1 in 1955 bus services extended to eastern suburbs and luxury coach services introduced . 1 the tramway system had been running at a loss when the undertaking took it over . the losses kept on mounting year after year . in 1953 it started closing down the uneconomic routes due to high operational costs and poor public support . in 1964 best s long running tram services terminated . 5 operations edit best ferry in manori creek a vestibule best bus . best no longer uses buses of this kind the best bus routes are spread citywide and to neighboring cities . the best operates inter city services to three areas beyond the municipal limits of mumbai city i.e. into the limits of the bordering corporations of navi mumbai thane &