State environment minister Aaditya Thackeray on Monday said they aim to have its Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) buses fleet completely consisting of electric vehicles (EV) by 2028. Thackeray was speaking at the memorandum of understanding (MOU) signing ceremony relating to Mumbai Climate Action Plan (MCAP). The current fleet size of BEST is over 3,000, of which 386 are EV buses.
The BMC on Monday signed MOU, including the Women for Climate, Cities for Forests Campaign and the e-Bus Mission. The MOUs were signed in the presence of state environment minister Aaditya Thackeray and civic officials.
Speaking at the event, Thackeray said, “We are one of the few cities to move towards climate friendly initiatives. This includes having women when it comes to finding solutions for climate changes, considering they are impacted in every such scenario. Following this, we are also focusing on increasing the trees in the city. It is not just about increasing tree cover in forest areas, but also in the city area. We must ensure that we involve our citizens in planting trees native to Mumbai and cool the neighbourhoods.”
Thackeray further added, “The BEST currently has 386 EV buses and we are looking at 1,900 EV buses and 200 double-decker buses, converting 50% fleet to electric by 2023 & 100% by 2028. WRI India and GiZ will optimise a smooth transition for the consumer and last-mile connectivity for BEST.” The BEST also aims to set up 55 EV charging points in the city in the next three to four months followed by a mobile application for real-time updates on BEST buses by the end of December.
Further, Thackeray also spoke about climate change in the form of changing rain patterns and the need for rainwater harvesting. He said, “We have seen many red alerts in the past few years, which have also included rain of around 250mm. If this is the type of rainfall, be it any city in the world, there will be waterlogging. There is nothing to lie here about it. Also, further with the adequate rainfall, we also need to focus on rainwater harvesting, considering a city like Mumbai has a lot of scope for it.”
Meanwhile, at the event on Monday, the BMC also launched a logo having QR code that will be pasted outside housing societies where citizens are fully vaccinated. The logo of the same was unveiled at the hands of Thackeray.