End of road for KingLong buses BEST is devising a phase-out plan for the China-made BEST buses that have been facing flak from all quarters

End of road for KingLong buses

BEST is devising a phase-out plan for the China-made buses that have been facing flak from all quarters

With widespread opposition to the infamous AC KingLong buses in its fleet building up in recent years, the Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport Undertaking’s (BEST) has finally made up its mind to phase them out. In its fortnightly meet of the BEST committee on Tuesday, general manager Om Prakash Gupta responded to the members’ demands for “doing something about the KingLong buses by deciding their long-term role in the undertaking’s services”. Stating that BEST was seriously considering phasing out the controversial buses under criticism from all quarters, Gupta said, “We will devise a proper phase-out plan as it’s unfeasible to simply remove them from the fleet abruptly without bringing in replacements first. So, it has to be a long-term plan spanning three to five years.” There are 284 AC KingLong buses in the BEST undertaking’s fleet of which 12 ply on the airport tarmac. Of the remaining 270 that ply in the city and its satellite cities, maintenance or mechanical issues routinely ground over 60 buses on any given day. Talking to DNA, Gupta said, “We will verify the physical condition of every AC KingLong bus in our fleet and check its maintenance needs. Those in extremely poor conditions will be removed first in batches of 20 in three to five years.” About how soon a plan was expected to be prepared, he said, “It could be in place by March 2013 and implementation could begin by January 2014, when the first batch of 20 buses will be phased out.” The BEST committee will finalise modalities of the phase-out plan after a proposal is tabled. While refusing comment on which buses will replace the KingLongs, officials said the contenders were Volvo and Mercedes buses, with more weight behind the former.