BEST bus was driving at 46 kmph when it ploughed into crowd in Kurla, data shows

Mumbai: The electric bus of BEST hit the speed of 46 kmph when it ploughed into a crowd and mowed down seven people on a crowded road in Kurla area earlier this week, a senior official of the civic-run bus service said on Friday.

Throughout the day, before the tragic accident around 9.30 on Monday night, the speed of the bus did not exceed 32 kmph, much less than what BEST considers dangerous.

Besides seven people who died, 42 others were injured as the Olectra bus, hired by the civic-run Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) undertaking on wet-lease basis, hit several vehicles before coming to a halt inside a housing society.

Driver Sanjay More (54) is now in police custody for alleged reckless driving.

The speed of the 12-metre long bus was locked at 80 kmph, though some other buses of the same manufacturer remain locked at 50 or 60 kmph as well, said the BEST official.

"For the entire day on December 9, the highest speed clocked by the driver was just 32 kmph, except at the accident time," he said.

BEST constantly monitors the speed of all its buses through the Vehicle Location Tracking Device (VLTD), mandatory for all public transport vehicles.

If a driver crosses the limit of 40 kmph, he is treated as "high speed". On crossing 50 kmph, a driver is red-flagged as "dangerous driver" and counseled, said the official.

"Crossing 50 kmph on highways, or in early morning or late at night is not considered as dangerous driving, but still we counsel drivers about limiting speed," he added.

BEST has set up a five-member committee to investigate the Kurla accident.

At a meeting of the panel in the chamber of the BEST general manager, the five `wet lease' operators -- contractors who provide both buses and drivers to BEST -- said their vehicles are locked at different speeds, ranging from 50 to 75 kmph.

BEST is now planning to limit the speed of all wet-leased buses at a uniform level, and has sought replies from the operators regarding this, an official said.

Notably, with growing congestion on roads, increased traffic signals, illegal parking, hawkers and never-ending utility works, the average speed of BEST vehicles on Mumbai roads dipped to 9 kmph in 2024 from 11.5 kmph in 2014, officials said.

On average, a BEST bus plies for 169 km per day, against 184 km per day in 2023. As a result, the frequency of the service has gone down, and more buses are needed.

Meanwhile, BEST has restored all the bus routes connecting to Kurla station (West), suspended after the accident.

It would bring relief to commuters travelling to the business district of Bandra Kurla Complex and other parts of the city.

Both BEST and Olectra have submitted reports to the transport commissioner's office regarding the accident and they would be forwarded to Mumbai police and the Maharashtra government, a transport department official said.

As per BEST, driver More had started operating automatic transmission buses (ones without a clutch) since December 1. Before that he drove diesel-run mini Tempo Traveller buses of two other wet lease operators whose services BEST discontinued due to different reasons.

BEST administration has claimed that More had received three days' training before he was allowed to drive the electric bus.

RTO officials suspect that human error and lack of proper training for driving automatic transmission buses could be the reason behind the accident, among the most horrific involving BEST buses in recent history.

A total of 106 accidents involving BEST buses, including 79 wet-leased and 27 self-owned, have taken place in FY 24-25 as of December 9, against 68 during the same period (March-December) in FY 23-24 and 73 in FY 22-23.

The 79 accidents of wet-leased buses in this financial year included 20 fatal, 48 serious accidents, while 27 accidents involving self-owned buses of the BEST undertaking included four fatal and 21 serious accidents.