Mumbai: Maharashtra Tourism Minister Aaditya Thackeray inaugurated tap-in tap-out service for Mumbai’s BEST (Brihanmumbai Electricity Supply and Transport) on Wednesday, making it the city’s first bus to go fully digital.
“Brihanmumbai Electricity Supply and Transport (BEST) is India’s first bus service to go completely digital,” said Aaditya Thackeray.
“We will be implementing this in all 10 buses on this route in a few days and later expand it on all 438 routes across the city,’ he added.
Reiterating the mantra of ‘Pudhe Chala,’ BEST not only provides the most affordable rates, with fares starting at ₹5 but also is aiming to be completely green & accessible with its goals of using 100% alternate fuel buses by 2027 & a fleet size increase to 10,000 buses. pic.twitter.com/ZzPJ1pCtd8
— Aaditya Thackeray (@AUThackeray) April 20, 2022
According to Lokesh Chandra, General Manager (GM) of BEST, “This is the first 100 per cent digital bus service in the country, aiming to enhance the digitization of the bus ticketing system. It provides ease and convenience to passengers as they can tap in using their smart card or through the ‘Chalo’ app on their smartphone,” GM said.
“After completing the journey, the passenger gets a receipt on their mobile phone if they tap-out using the app and can also get their ticket using the smart card,” he explained.
Initially, the tap-in tap-out service is only a part of two buses, but the service providers are likely to soon deploy this digital bus service for 200 routes in the city. Passengers travelling by this fully digital bus were found appreciating the move toward digitisation.
“It was a much-needed initiative for travelling in a city like Mumbai,” said Jatin, a commuter. He said that the journey became more convenient as it was completely contactless, with no interaction with the ticket checker
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