Mumbai: BEST general manager Anil Diggikar on Thursday announced a comprehensive campaign against reckless drivers of both wet lease and BEST-owned buses. Diggikar has formed special surveillance teams, primarily consisting of bus inspectors and personnel reassigned from other departments to maintain vigilance on roads and monitor buses violating traffic regulations and driving carelessly.
“Officials must report information about such irresponsible drivers to the control room and traffic wing, which will subsequently initiate disciplinary proceedings based on photographic or video evidence captured by the specialised teams,” an official said.
BEST will also coordinate with BMC to remove unauthorised vendors and encroachments from the carriageway, particularly near railway stations throughout Mumbai to ensure unobstructed bus movement. This is being done in the wake of the Kurla bus crash in a congested market locality.
Diggikar indicated in connection with the Kurla crash, the six private wet lease bus operators will submit their responses to his enquiries, detailing their driver recruitment and training protocols. On Monday, he will issue a mandate regarding the finalised procedures for drivers’ training, incorporating simulators, two-tier training programmes for drivers and mandatory breathalyser checks while on duty.
Diggikar said the department maintains “zero tolerance” towards fatal crashes and will implement requisite measures to prevent such incidents from recurring. In cases of complaints regarding reckless or negligent driving or signal violations, the contractor will face penalties while the driver will face suspension.
A former BEST committee member recalled a viral video of a driver engaged in a video call. “In such cases, there ought to be no formal inquiry, and the driver should face immediate suspension alongside having his licence revoked.”
BEST statistics showed 50-plus bus drivers were arrested for rash driving and suspended in the past four years for causing accidents. Activist Godfrey Pimenta said Dadar station area should be cleared of hawkers for BEST buses.
