Mahayuti's BEST Bus Fare Subsidy Plan May Strain BMC Finances, Experts Warn

Mahayuti's Fare Subsidy Proposal Raises Financial Concerns for BEST and BMC

The Mahayuti alliance's plan to slash BEST bus fares for women passengers is sparking serious financial worries. Transport experts and urban planners caution that this move could worsen the already precarious financial situation of the Brihanmumbai Electricity Supply and Transport undertaking.

Manifesto Promise and Immediate Backlash

On January 11, the Bharatiya Janata Party and Shiv Sena-led Mahayuti released their manifesto for the BMC polls. Alongside promises of civic amenities and infrastructure upgrades, they proposed a fifty percent fare reduction for women traveling on BEST buses. This announcement quickly drew criticism from transport specialists who argue it will strain the cash-strapped transport body further.

BEST currently depends heavily on grants from the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation. For the 2025-26 financial year, BMC allocated Rs 1,000 crore to BEST, up from Rs 850 crore the previous year. Despite this support, BEST faces massive financial challenges. Its total liabilities for the current financial year stand at Rs 9,286 crore, with an annual deficit pegged at Rs 2,200 crore.

Expert Recommendations for Revenue Generation

Vivek Pai, a transport expert and urban planner from Mumbai Mobility Forum, voiced strong concerns. "For a transport undertaking facing such a severe cash crunch, the first option should be to chalk out alternate methods of fund generation instead of cutting down the fares," Pai told The Indian Express. "Because, on one hand, this move is not going to generate any revenue for the undertaking, and on the other hand, it is going to increase the liability further."

BEST recently took steps to boost revenue by doubling bus fares in May last year. The minimum fare for non-air-conditioned buses increased from Rs 5 to Rs 10, while air-conditioned bus fares rose from Rs 6 to Rs 12. This hike resulted in daily revenue increasing by approximately Rs 1 crore. Previously, BEST earned between Rs 2.25 crore and Rs 2.5 crore daily. Following the revision, daily revenue climbed to between Rs 3.3 crore and Rs 3.5 crore.

Pai suggested alternative revenue streams for BEST. He emphasized monetizing the transport body's land bank and expanding advertising revenue through billboards. "These two models can generate good revenue for the undertaking, and only after it reaches a sustainable position in terms of finances, should it think of subsidies," Pai added.

Legal Mandates and Financial Implications

The Mumbai Municipal Corporation Act of 1888 clearly mandates that BMC must strengthen public transport systems and fund them through its own budget. Given BEST's heavy dependence on BMC funding, the proposed fare subsidy is expected to impact the Mumbai civic body's finances significantly.

Shashank Rao, head of the BEST union, defended the fare reduction decision. He stated that citizens would benefit since BEST relies entirely on BMC for financial support. "The MMC Act clearly states that even if the BMC faces a budgetary shortfall, it must reduce expenditure from its internal departments to ensure adequate grants to BEST," Rao explained. "On the other hand, being a public transport undertaking, BEST doesn't have any profit or loss mechanism since its balance sheet only has two categories of deficit and surplus. Which means just as BMC backs BEST in the times of deficit, if there is surplus generated will also go to the civic body."

BMC's Weakening Financial Position

The Mahayuti's proposal reinforces the likelihood that BEST will continue depending on BMC funding rather than functioning as an independent entity. This approach mirrors moves proposed during the previous undivided Shiv Sena-BJP regime in the BMC.

However, BMC's own financial health has deteriorated over the past three years. The civic body's fixed deposits have declined by Rs 12,000 crore due to substantial capital expenditure on major civic projects. BMC data shows fixed deposits fell from Rs 91,690 crore in 2021-22 to Rs 79,498 crore in 2024-25.

More than half of the current fixed deposit amount comprises: