best undertaking formerly called 1873 as bombay tramway company limited horsecar 1905 as best co. ltd. bombay electric supply & tramways best company ltd tramways and electricity 1947 as best undertaking bombay electric supply and transport undertaking best tramways and electricity type autonomous state owned enterprise industry public transport tram 1873 1964 bus 1926 present electricity 1905 present founded mumbai 1873 headquarters electric house colaba mumbai maharashtra india key people jagdish patil general manager revenue rs . 2 353.4 million 538.7 m usd 2004 number of employees 44 000 2005 parent municipal corporation of greater mumbai website www.bestundertaking.com the brihanmumbai electricity supply and transport best undertaking is the civic transport and electricity provider public body based in mumbai maharashtra india . originally set up in 1873 as a tramway company brihanmumbai electric supply & tramways company the best set up a captive thermal power station at wadi bunder mumbai in november 1905 to generate electricity for its trams that positioned it to also supply electricity to the city of mumbai . since 1926 the best has been an operator of motor buses . in 1947 a week prior to india gaining independence the best became an undertaking of the brihanmumbai municipal corporation . it now operates as an autonomous body under the municipal corporation . the undertaking operates one of india s largest fleets of buses . the bus transport service covers the entire city and also extends its operations outside city limits into neighbouring thane and mira bhayandar . in addition to buses it also operates a ferry service in the northern reaches of the city . the electricity division of the organisation is also one of the few electricity departments in india to garner an annual gross profit . best transport house contents 1 history 1.1 origins 1.2 before 1920 1.3 the b.e.s.t. company 1.4 1920 1940 1.5 advent of buses 1.6 post 1940 1.7 the best undertaking 2 transport 3 electric department 4 organisation 5 finances 6 culture and awards 7 see also 8 notes 9 references 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 realised owing to the prevailing economic depression in the city . the end of the american civil war during which mumbai had made vast strides in its economy by supplying cotton and textiles to the world market was the reason for the economic downturn . later on 27 november 1871 a notice in the times of india newspaper put by the bombay omnibus service proposed to set up a bus service between malabar hill and fort . however the proposed monthly pass fare of thirty pounds proved to be too expensive and the tender was promptly abandoned . before 1920 edit the bombay tramway company limited was formally set up in 1873 . after a contract was entered into between the bombay tramway company and the municipality the bombay presidency enacted the bombay tramways act 1874 under which the company was licensed to run a horsecartramway service in the city . the horsecar were of two kinds ; those drawn by one horse and those drawn by two . in 1905 a newly formed concern the bombay electric supply & tramways company limited bought the bombay tramway company and the first electrically operated tram car appeared on bombay s roads in 1907 . the passing years aggravated the problem of rush hour traffic and to ease the situation double decker trams were introduced in september 1920 . the b.e.s.t. company edit a best tram of the early 20th century the birth of the best dates back to 1873 with the setting up of the bombay tramway company limited which was given the licence to operate trams in the city . the bombay municipal corporation bmc was given the right to purchase the company after twenty five years or after seven years thereafter . in 1874 the bombay tramways act was enacted after the contract was formally signed between the municipality and the company to start such a transport system . 1 on 9 may 1874 the first horse drawn carriage made its d but in the city plying on the colaba pydhone via crawford market and bori bunder to pydhonie via kalbadevi routes . the initial fare was three annas 15 paise and no tickets were issued . as the service became increasingly popular the fare was reduced to two annas 10 paise . later that year tickets were issued for the first time to curb the increasing ticketless travel . 2 gas lamps of the early 20th century in 1882 the municipality entered into an agreement with the eastern electric light and power company to provide electric lighting in the crawford market and on some of the roads . but the company went into liquidation the following year and the market reverted to gas lighting . in 1899 bombay tramway company applied to the bmc for operation of electrically operated trams . due to the high investment required the company suggested that the bmc should waive its right to take over the tramways which was to take place in 1901 according to the contract signed in 1874 . however the bmc decided to take over the company but was met with several legal problems . in 1904 british electric traction company england applied for a license to supply electricity to the city . the brush electrical engineering company was its agent . it got the bombay electric license on 31 july 1905 signed by bombay tramways company the bombay municipality the brush electrical company and the b.e.s.t. company . in 1905 bombay electric supply & tramways company limited b.e.s.t. company came into existence . the b.e.s.t. company was granted the monopoly for electric supply and the running of an electric tram service in the city . the b.e.s.t. company bought the assets of the tramway company for rs .9 850 000 . 3 two years later the first electric tram debuted in the city . later that year a 4 300 kilowatts 5 800 hp steam power generator was commissioned at wari bunder . in 1916 power purchase from the tata power group a privately owned company was started and by 1925 all power generation was outsourced from tata . 4 1920 1940 edit bombay saw its first bus run on 15 july 1926 between afghan church and crawford market . the people of bombay received the bus with enthusiasm but it took quite some time before this means of conveyance really established itself . for several years it was looked upon as transport for the upper middle class . those were the days when the tram was the poor man s transport ; it carried one all the way from sassoon dock to dadar . the bus fare for the same journey was 25 paise . 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 . double decker buses were introduced in 1937 in order to cope better with the growing traffic . the first limited bus service in bombay and probably the first in the country as well started running in 1940 between colaba and mahim . advent of buses edit the city s first bus started operations in 1926 . since 1913 the company had been pondering over starting a motorised bus service . the main factor against its introduction was the high accident rate for a similar service in london . finally after years of debate the company came to a decision on 10 february 1926 to start a bus service later that year . on 15 july 1926 the first bus service in india was started on three routes . despite stiff opposition and protests by taxi drivers the service ran without a hitch transporting 600 000 passengers by the end of that year . the following year the number had increased to 3.8 million . the trams meanwhile due to their lower fares were relegated to being a poor man s transport . the indian independence movement s call for mass non violent strikes and general civil disobedience led to regular service disruptions leading to the company incurring huge losses in 1929 . the next year was a particular bad year for the company in the wake of the great depression . to remain solvent the company decided to introduce discounted fares for short routes and increase its coverage to the northern portions of the city . in 1937 the introduction of double decker buses proved to be extremely popular . post 1940 edit best double deckered bus pursuant to the option given to it under the deed of concession granted to the bombay electric supply and tramways co. ltd the bombay municipal corporation acquired on 7 august 1947 the assets of the combined undertaking namely the operation of tramways and distribution of electricity in the city of bombay as a going concern . by mutual agreement the corporation also took over the operation of the bus services which was run by the bombay electric supply & transport company . thus the bombay electric supply & transport company was municipalised and came to be known as bombay electric supply & transport . world war ii brought with it the rationing of fuel and a shortage of tires . the increasing costs of owning a car forced many to switch to using the bus service . despite huge losses the company diligently plied its buses and trams to cater to the residents of bombay . 5 the best undertaking edit electric house in colaba area is the headquarters of the best . after world war ii and india s independence the management of the company was taken over by the bmc on 7 august 1947 and the company was renamed the best undertaking . 6 when the corporation took over the company in 1947 there were 242 buses in operation on 23 routes and these buses carried 238 000 passengers per day . at present there are 4680 buses carrying 4 800 000 passengers daily on over 400 routes . with the change in the name of the city from bombay to mumbai the organisation is now known as brihanmumbai electric supply & transport best . as the company grew post independence it 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 suburbs . 7 in 1951 the electricity division switched over from direct current dc to the more efficient alternating current ac . the company launched its services in the eastern suburbs in 1955 . 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 organisation a complete monopoly over bus services in the greater bombay area . in 1964 due to high operational costs and poor public support its long running tram services were terminated . 8 the company achieved the status of being the first company in the country to issue computerised billing in 1974 . in 1994 the company introduced electronic meters in a move to replace the less accurate electric meters . following a supreme court directive the company has been gradually phasing out old buses and introducing new buses which comply with the euro iii pollution control standards . 9 some interesting facts of present day best buses best has introduced a c cerita services on certain routes . from 19 november 2004 route spl 8 travelling from churchgate to world trade