The transportation wing of

Project On

Transportation wing of BEST

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Bachelor of Business Administration (Specialization)

Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for award of Bachelor of

Business Administration of Tilak Maharashtra Vidyapeeth, Pune.

Submitted by

Deepak .S. Vaishanv

PRN:7109500657

of

Kiran Devi Saraf Institute

Centre No.

Malad West

Mumbai -400

Tilak Maharashtra Vidyapeeth

Gultekdi , Pune 411037

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Tilak Maharashtra Vidyapeeth, pune

(Deemed Under Section 3 of UGC Act 1956 Vide Notification NO.F.9-19/85 – U3 dated 24th April 1987 By the Government of India)

CERTIFICATE

This is to certify that the project titled Transportation wing of BEST is a bonafide work carried out by Mr./Ms Deepak .S. Vaishnav a student of Bachelor of Business Administration Semester 6th Specialization Marketing PRN 7109500657 under Tilak Maharashtra Vidyapeeth, in the year 2012

Head of the Department Examiner Examiner

Internal External

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Date : Vidyapeeth Seal

Place :

CERTIFICATE OF INTERNAL GIUDE

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Company certificate

TO WHOMSOEVER IT MAY CONCERN

This is to certify that Mr. / Ms. Deepak .S. Vaishnav BBA

Student of Tilak Maharashtra Vidyapeeth, Pune has successfully completed their project work for award of Bachelor Degree Of Business Administration.

He / She has done the project on “Transportation Wing Of BEST ”

Designation Company Name

Signature Company Seal

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ACKNOWLEDGMENT

Gratitude is not a thing of expression; it is more matter of feeling."I would like to express my deep gratitude to

Honourable Sir Saurabh ……….my training coordinator for their constant co-operation. He was

always there with his competent guidance and valuable suggestion throughout the pursuance of this research project.

Special thanks toHonourable Miss Kinjal……

who guided me to work honestly and to give valuable suggestion for improving my work .

Last but not least I would also like to thanks all the BEST Officers Specially to Public Ralation Officer “Mahadev

Walvankar”for his kind co-operation.Above all no words can express my feelings to my parents,

friends & all teaching & non-teaching staff of my college whose  support has helped me a lot in collecting necessary information.

I would also l ike to thank almighty God for his blessings showered on me during the completion of project report.

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Index Of Contents With Page Numbers

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GENERAL INTRODUCTION

History

At the beginning of the nineteenth century the usual means of conveyance in the city had been what were called the shigram (horse-drawn), the rekla (bullock-drawn) and the palkhi (palanquin). Now the gharry, a horse-drawn vehicle, joined them

There were some twenty-five or thirty stands for vehicles in the city - as at Colaba, Apollo bunder, the Municipal Offices, the Portuguese Church at Girgaum, and Lalbaug. The fares were modest: for a mile’s road, the horse-drawn vehicle charged one four annas (twenty-five paisa )

But the first motor car appeared on Mumbai roads in 1901. Today the city has over six lakhs vehicles, which include motor cars, buses, trucks, scooters, bicycles Mumbai’s roads are well nigh groaning under this wheeled traffic, but the very magnitude of the traffic is an index of the city’s stupendous growth. Another year that stands out in the history of the city is 1872: the year of the establishment of the Municipal Corporation for the city. The citizens were given local self-government; the rate payers could elect their representatives on the body.

 With the city growing at such a pace, a well-organized road transport system became a necessity. Soon the Bombay Tramway Company Ltd. was set up.

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Title Page

Project report on :-

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Introduction to the problem

Title of the project

“Transportation wing of BEST”

(Brihan Mumbai Electric Supply &Transport )

Statement of the problem

1. Collecting data was the main reliable problem I faced during the whole project.

2. Public Realtion Officer was much senior therefore initially I was depressed because of inferiority feeling. But he was encouraging & dynamic.

3. Travelling through bus & trains in the peak hours was more challenging.

4. I have wasted my more time in asking addresses & fondling streets & offices.

5. Though it was a time consuming it took a lot time, but last I submitted without failing.

6. Sitting outside PRO’s office & entering into it was most challenging one for me,but I managed

Purpose of the study

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The main purpose of this study is to attain the full  knowledge of the BEST.

The main purpose of the study are as follows :-•

1. To know the ideas of passengers about BEST and services.

2. To study the satisfaction level of customers of BEST Buses•

3. To study the problems faced by BEST in providing quality services.

4. To learn about various aspect of BEST & its operations.

5. To know how BEST originated.

6. To remove myths & rumours of its winding up.

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OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

“The ultimate objective of this highly intervention study is to contribute toward improving the quality service being provided by “ BEST”(BRIHAN MUMBAI ELECTRIC AND TRANSPORT SUPPLY) .To know its working strategy, how effectiveness it is of preventing accident in this always traffic situation care, and support activities offered by community-based organizations to PLHA.”• “The ultimate objective of this intervention study is to develop a cost-effective model of

service delivery in that can reduce the transmission of to their.”

“The ultimate objective of this study is to develop for a cost-effective and sustainable approach for integrating high-quality services with related family planning and and prevention and care services inprimary health care facilities. “The ultimate objective of this intervention study is to reduce the transmission of and by implementing a 100 percent use policy in brothels throughout the.” “The ultimate objective of this intervention study is to promote the concept of dual protection through the use .

A major shift in the working of BEST from an older age to use of new innovated methods of operation.

To promote the well being of this organization.

An awareness raising and open minding for the new approach for ,which could help to know this organization more better in an efficient way.

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SCOPE OF STUDY

The Transportation industry in Mumbai has grown by leaps and bound in few years. Total “Transportation service industry” has risen with witnesses of Substantial phenomenal growth from last 5 years. There are greater number of travellers of of all ages & gender have gone up. So to cop up with the rising challenge Mumbai’s red line “BEST” has made so many changes in its strategy.So by this study we can find out what modification thay have made, to what extent,What is their customer satisfaction level, and more.

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PROFILE OF THE COMPANY

BESTOrigins

The idea of a mass publ ic t ranspor t sys tem for Mumbai was f i rs t put forward in 1865 by an American  company, which appl ied for a l icence to opera te a horse-drawn t ramway sys tem. Al though a l icence was granted , the projec t was never rea l ized , owing to the prevai l ing economic depress ion in the c i ty . The end of the  American Civi l War , dur ing which Bombay had made vas t s t r ides in i t s economy by supplying cot ton and text i les to the wor ld market , was the reason for the economic downturn .

Later , on 27 November 1871, a not ice in the  Times o f India  newspaper put by the Bombay Omnibus Service , proposed to se t up a bus service be tween  Malabar Hi l l   and  For t . However , the proposed monthly pass fare of th i r ty  pounds  proved to be too expensive , and the tender was prompt ly abandoned.

Bombay Tramway Company Limited

In 1873, the Bombay Tramway Company Limi ted , was g iven the l icence to opera te   t rams   in the c i ty . The  Bombay Munic ipa l Corpora t ion (BMC) was g iven the r ight to purchase the company af ter f i r s t twenty years , or a f te r every per iod of seven years thereaf ter .   In 1874, theBombay Tramways Act  was enacted af ter the cont rac t was formal ly s igned between the Munic ipa l i ty and the Company to s tar t such a t ramway service . On 9 May 1874, the company s tar ted wi th  Hourse-drawn t ram  of two kinds on road - those drawn by one horse and those drawn by two. Service was

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in t roducedon two routes   :  Colaba   to Pydhoni v ia Crawford Market , and  Bor i Bunder   to Pydhoni , v ia Kalbadevi wi th a f lee t of 20 cars and 200 horses .

The Bombay Tramway Company Limited was formally set up in 1873. The Mumbai Municipality was given the right to buy up the concern after the first 25 years or after every period of 7 years thereafter. After this contract was entered into between the Bombay Tramway Company and the Municipality, the Government of Mumbai enacted the Bombay Tramways Act, 1874, under which the Company was licenced to run a tramway service in the city. The tram-cars were of two kinds-those drawn by one horse and those drawn by two. In 1905, a newly formed concern, “The Bombay Electric Supply & Tramways Company Limited” bought the Bombay Tramway Company and the first electrically operated tram-car appeared on Mumbai’s roads in 1907. The passing years aggravated the problem of rush-hour traffic and to ease the situation, double decker trams were introduced in September, 1920.

Mumbai saw its first bus run on 15th July, 1926. The people of Mumbai received the bus with enthusiasm, but it took quite sometime before this means of conveyance really established itself. For several years, it was looked upon as transport for the upper middle classes. Those were the days when the tram was the poor man’s transport, carried one all the way from Sassoon Dock to Dadar for a mere anna and a half, that was nine paise. The bus fare for the same journey was four annas, that is 25 paise.

In response to the please made by the Government and the Brihan Mumbai Mahanagarpalika,the Company extended its services to the northern part of the city in 1934.Double deck buses were introduced in 1937 in order to cope better with the growing traffic. The first Limited Bus service in Mumbai, and probably the first in the country as well, started running in 1940 between Colaba and Mahim.

Pursuant to the option given to it under the Deed of Concession granted to the Bombay Electric Supply and Tramways Co.Ltd, the Brihan Mumbai Mahanagarpalika acquired on 7th August,1947, the assets of the combined

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Undertaking, namely the operation of tramways and distribution of electricity in the city of Mumbai as a going concern. By mutual agreement, the Corporation also took over the operation of the bus services, which was run by the B.E.S & T Company Ltd.

Thus, the Bombay Electric Supply and Transport Company was municipalised and came to be known as Bombay Electric Supply & Transport Undertaking . The Undertaking has completed 50 years of its municipalisation on 7th August, 1997.

The city of Mumbai has grown from a small trading center 50 years ago to be rightly called the first commercial capital of India. In almost all spheres of human activity. Mumbai has so many ‘firsts’ to its credit. Likewise the Brihan Mumbai Electric Supply & Transport Undertaking, popularly known as ‘BEST’ has scored many ‘firsts’ in the country's life and established many records.

The intricacies of Mumbai’s transport system can easily baffle any new comer from the countryside. To use a figure of speech, the city inhales and exhales through the BEST bus services. The changeover from horsedriven trams to buses has been spectacular.

When the Corporation took over the Company in 1947, there were 242 buses in operation on 23 routes and these buses carried 2.38 lakh passengers per day. At present, there are 3380 buses carrying 45 lakhs passengers daily on 335 routes. Special transport arrangements are made and extra buses under various Action Plans are operated during the year on various social/ religious occasions. The Undertakings also pays special attention to operate extra buses to clear the stranded passenger traffic on account of dislocation of Railways, heavy rains and similar such events. The Undertaking also operates extra buses on Saturdays, Sundays and Holidays to clear the excursion traffic at various picnic points. The undertaking has been endeavouring to ease the journey of lady passengers, particularly working women by introducing ‘Ladies First’ buses at various points where the ladies are given priority while boarding the bus at the starting point.

Faster clearance of traffic in the megapolis of Mumbai with less number of vehicles has been receiving attention for sometime. It is with this background that

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the Undertaking has introduced Vestibule buses as a part of its fleet on the eve of Golden Jubilee. Since these buses carry about 110 passengers each, they clear the passenger traffic faster, particularly during the peak hours.

The undertaking has been fully conscious of the alarming levels of pollution in cities. With modern and reliable technology, the Undertaking has been making constant efforts not only to keep pollution level under control, but minimise it. Keeping this view in mind, the Undertaking has introduced CNG buses, i.e. buses run on Compressed Natural Gas in the Golden Jubilee year. CNG run buses being almost pollution free as compared to the Diesel run buses, their introduction on Mumbai roads has proved to be a boon in the realm of Public Transport.

The Undertaking has a well-equipped Training Center for the traffic staff and designed program to re-educate them on such relevant topics as fuel conservation, safety measures, behaviour with the public etc. Training is also imparted in Refresher Courses to improve driving habits of the drivers under which officers check the habits of drivers constantly and as a result of which there is a great reduction in accidents. In the Refresher Courses, the stress is on an image revamp from a mere BEST employee to a concerned individual who cares for passenger comfort. The accident-prevention wing of the BEST has an accident prevention van with ‘safety slogans’ and equipped with instructive ‘audio-visual’ programs.

As regards BEST’s electric supply side, in the year 1905, the B.E.S.& T Co.Ltd., commenced the supply of electrical energy by erecting its own generating station with a total capacity of 4,300 KW. This was later abandoned in favour of a station of larger capacity constructed in 1912 at Kussara Basin. This station was closed down in 1925, after which all the Company’s requirements were obtained in bulk from M/s. Tata Hydro Electric Power Supply Co.Ltd, With the growth of the electrical distribution system, difficulties were experienced in the maintenance of the electrical pressure within the prescribed statutory limits. The Company than decided to establish two High Voltage Receiving Stations at Grant Road, and Apollo where large bulk supply transformers provided with on-load tap changing equipment had to be installed for maintaining regulated voltage at the consumer’s premises. These two new stations were, however, actually commissioned in 1949, i.e. after the B.E.S. & T Co.Ltd., was acquired by the Municipal Corporation.

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In 1947, the Undertaking supplied electricity to 1,08,241 consumers through 247 sub stations. Today, it caters to 8,20,000 consumers through 1,773 substations. Street lamps in those days numbered 2,215 between Colaba to Mahim and Sion. Today, it provides electricity on streets through 34,764 street lamps. It is a well-known fact that the municipal limits of Mumbai were extended from time to time to cover more and more suburban areas and the BEST had to expand its bus services to cater to the entire municipal area. However, the electricity supply of BEST was restricted to the old city area which is equal to about 75 sq.kms.Nevertheless, BEST has been endeavouring to give its services to the electric consumers by way of guaranteed electric supply. The consumers are so used to the service that even an interruption of a few minutes is resented by them. The supply is restored within the shortest possible time as the BEST is well-equipped with latest fault-locating and testing instruments and highly skilled staff.

The Undertaking has always been foremost in adopting technical innovations in its day to day functions. One such project is that of digitisation of records of underground cables. The Undertaking has planned a digitization project where the land base and data of underground cable network, equipments, substations and loads would be digitized. This would be of immense help not only in the location of cable faults which would reduce interruption time, but also computer-aided design of electricity distribution system with minimum distribution losses. Under this programme, it is proposed to digitize 5,000 kms., cable network of BEST. Presently, 800 city survey maps are updated manually to incorporate the changes regarding cable services, joints etc. This will be computerized totally which will help to get underground and overground information at any point in the area of supply easily. Another important scheme is of electronic meters. There are about 9 lakh meters, most of which are electro-magnetic type. However, in view of the errors in such meters and corresponding loss in the revenue, they are being replaced in phases by electronic meters which are more accurate.

The Undertaking has also undertaken schemes to computerize the Consumers and Commercial departments of the Electric Supply Division and to decentralize most of the consumer/commercial services at all levels. These schemes will prove to be

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a boon for the consumers who will be able to solve most of the problems in connection with the grant of new connection, additional load, redressal of other grievances in regard to high bills, change of name etc; through a single window redressal system. This is another important step in the Undertaking’s march towards ever improving heights of excellence.

The t ranspor ta t ion wing of  Br ihanmumbai Elec t r ic Supply and Transpor t Under taking   (BEST Under taking) opera tes a la rge number of bus l ines in the  Mumbai metropol i tan area . These buses are ca l led  BEST  or  B.E ST bus   . BEST bus serves the ent i re  Mumbai Ci ty . I t a l so has opera t ions outs ide c i ty l imi ts in to ne ighbor ing  Navi Mumbai ,  Thane  andMira -Bhayandar . In addi t ion to buses , i t a l so opera tes a fer ry service in the nor thern reaches of the c i ty .

The BEST a lso opera tes  bus rapid t rans i t   serv ice -  Mumbai BRTS . Mumbai BRTS is a mass ive Bus Rapid Trans i t sys tem taken up by the  MCGM ,  B.E.S.T Under taking , andGovernment of Maharasht ra . The Mumbai BRTS began opera t ion in 2008.

The present BEST under taking was s tar ted as an e lec t r ic supply company which then branched out to provide bus and  t ram   services . In 1964, e lec t r ic t rams were te rminated due to h igh opera t ional cos ts and poor publ ic suppor t .

The Munic ipa l i ty could have taken over the Company in 1894 as s t ipula ted by the cont rac t , but i t waived the r ight and the Bombay Tramway Company Limi ted was g iven extens ion t i l l 1901. In 1899, the Company appl ied to run i t s t ram-cars on e lec t r ic i ty . I t a l so f i led a p lea tha t cons ider ing heavy expendi ture the company wi l l occur the Munic ipa l i ty should waive i t s r ight of taking i t over in 1901. But even before the appl ica t ion was d isposed of , the Munic ipa l i ty dec ided to exerc ise i t s r ight to take over the Company. In 1905, The  Bombay Elec t r ic Supply & Tramways Company Limi ted   (B.E.S. & T Co.Ltd) bought the Bombay Tramway Company Limi ted . Because i t was an unfamil ia r vehic le and high fare the t ram-car was not a t f i r s t rece ived wi th the enthus iasm shown for the ra i lway. The company brought down the fare and made specia l e f for t to persuade the publ ic tha t t ram was cheap, fas t and smooth . When i t c losed down in 1905, i t had as many as 1 ,360 horses

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Formation of The Bombay Electr ic Supply & Tramways Company Limited

Mumbai f i rs t e lec t r ic t ram car began opera t ions in 1907.

In 1905, a newly formed concern The  Bombay Elec t r ic Supply & Tramways Company Limi ted (B.E.S. & T Co.Ltd) bought the Bombay Tramway Company Limi ted  and the f i rs t  e lec t r ica l ly opera ted t ram-car   appeared on Mumbai’s roads in 1907.[ 5 ]  B .E.S.T. Company Limi ted had been es tabl i shed in England under Engl ish the Companies Act . I t s regis tered off ice was in London and i t s Board of Management met there . As a resul t , the Company had to pay income-tax to the Br i t i sh Exchequer on the prof i t s i t earned in India , and as i t was regis tered in Mumbai i t had to pay a s imi lar tax in   India . To avoid double taxat ion the Board of Direc tors c losed the Company in London and es tabl i sh ing a new company in Bombay and Company’s capi ta l in pound s ter l ing was conver ted to correspondingvalue in rupees .

Electr ic Tram

B.E.S. & T Co.Ltd p laced order for the c i ty ' s f i r s t e lec t r ic t ram-car wi th the Brush Elec t r ica l Company of London. The vehic le ar r ived in Mumbai in January 1906. The service was formal ly inaugura ted on 7 May 1907 by the Chai rman of the Munic ipa l i ty . The inaugura l service ran be tween  Munic ipa l Off ice  bui ld ing and Crawford Market . Regular services s ta r ted f rom next day. Unl ike the horse drawn t ram, e lec t r ic t ram drew pra ise f rom publ ic for i t s comfor t and low fare .  The Upper Class in the t ram-cars was removed af ter some t ime. By 1910 the company faced rush hour t raf f ic dur ing off ice hours and there were not enough t rams to cope wi th the off ice goers . The company asked for permiss ion to run a t r ip le car and a l low s tandees on t ram, the f i rs t was re jec t and la ter d iscont inued in 1914.

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Double-decker e lec t r ic t rams were in t roduced in September , 1920 to ease rush hour t raf f ic .

To handle rush-hour t raf f ic double-decker t rams were in t roduced on Mumbai’s roads in September , 1920

Introduct ion of Motor Bus

The c i ty ' s f i r s t bus s tar ted opera t ions in 1926.

In 1913 there was debate in the Mumbai Munic ipa l i ty whether to in t roduce   t ro l ley buses  ormotor buses   to supplement the t ramway service in the c i ty . The main fac tor agains t i t s in t roduct ion was the h igh acc ident ra te for a s imi lar service in London. On 10 February 1926 the  B.E.S.& T  Company (Bombay Elec t r ic Supply & Tramways Company Limi ted ) dec ided to in t roduce three routes on exper imenta l bas is . On 15 July 1926, 24 s ingle deck buses s tar ted opera t ing on three routes - Afghan Church to the Crawford Market , Dadar Tram Terminus to King’s Circ le , v ia Pars i Colony, and Opera House to Lalbag via Lamington Road and Arthur Road. Despi te s t i f f opposi t ion and protes ts by taxi -dr ivers , the service ran wi thout a h i tch , t ranspor t ing s ix lakh (600,000) passengers by the end of tha t year . The fo l lowing year the number had increased to 38 lakhs (3 .8 mi l l ion) . The t rams meanwhi le , because of the i r lower fares , were re legated to be ing a poor man 's t ranspor t . By 1927 B.E.S.T. Company had a f lee t of 49 busesIn March 1930

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concess ional ra tes were in t roduced on shor t journeys , which a t t rac ted more passengers . Car owners quickly embraced the cheap publ ic t ranspor t . In response to the p leas made by the Government and the  Bombay Munic ipa l Corpora t ion , the company extended i t s services to the nor thern par t of the c i ty in 1934. In 1937 double-decker buses were in t roduced to cope be t te r wi th the growing t raf f ic . The s ingle-deck vehic le car r ied 36 passengers , the double-decker could take as many as 58 . The f i rs t l imi ted bus service in Mumbai , and probably the f i rs t in the country as wel l , s ta r ted running in 1940 between Colaba and Mahim

Formation of BEST Undertaking

One of the te rms of the Agreement of 7 August 1905 between the  Bombay Munic ipa l Corpora t ion  and the  Bombay Elec t r ic Supply & Tramways Company Limi ted   (B.E.S.&T. Company) gave the Bombay Munic ipa l i ty the r ight to buy the Company a t the end of for ty- two years . I t was a lso la id down tha t i f the r ight was exerc ised on 7 August 1947 - the Munic ipa l i ty would have to pay for ty lakh rupees as goodwil l , in addi t ion to the agreed pr ice of the Company’s asse ts . The r ight to buy the B.E.S.T. Company did not cover i t s Bus Service , which had been granted a permi t by the Commiss ioner of Pol ice under the provis ions of the Motor Vehic les Act . However the ac t d id not s top the Bombay Munic ipa l Corpora t ion f rom s tar t ing i t s own bus service .

The Munic ipa l i ty d iscussed the Mat ter wi th Government a t Pune . The Government had been contempla t ing taking over a l l the road t ranspor t in the Sta te . The Mumbai bus t ranspor t was not an except ion unless i t was acqui red by the Munic ipa l Corpora t ion . On 21 October 1946, the Munic ipa l Corpora t ion decided to buy the Bombay Elec t r ic Supply & Tramways Company wi th i t s bus t ranspor t sec t ion .

On 18 Apr i l 1947, the Genera l Manager of the B.E.S.T. Company offered to se l l the B.E.S.T. Company a long wi th i t s bus t ranspor t sec t ion to the Corpora t ion but requi red an amount equal to twenty per cent of the va lue of the bus t ranspor t sec t ion be pa id to the Company as goodwil l . But th is demand was re jec ted in v iew of the Government’s pol icy of na t ional i s ing t ranspor t . However , the payment of goodwil l was accepted in pr inc ip le . The Corpora t ion acqui red the B.E.S.T. Company to ta l asse ts for   6 ,35,00,000.

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On 7 August 1947, the Munic ipa l Corpora t ion took over the B.E.S.&T. Company Ltd and i t was Munic ipa l i sed to form the  Bombay Elec t r ic Supply and Transpor t Under taking  which was again renamed to  Br ihanmumbai Elec t r ic Supply and Transpor t Under taking (B.E.S.&T Under taking) in 1995. Pos t - independence , BEST increased i t s f lee t f rom 242 to 582 buses over the next decade . In 1949, i t took over the Bandra Bus Company, which used to p ly buses in the Western suburbs . The company launched i t s services in the eas tern suburbs in January 1955. The eas tern suburbs was serviced by pr iva te bus opera tors . That year , the Under taking and pr iva te opera tors went to cour t , wi th the BEST asking for a comple te c losure of the pr iva te companies . The case dragged on for four years before the Supreme Cour t of India granted the organiza t ion a comple te monopoly over bus services in the Greater Bombay area

In 1955, bus services extended to Eas tern Suburbs and Luxury Coach services in t roduced. The t ramway sys tem had been running a t a loss when the Under taking took i t over . The losses kept on mount ing year af te r year . In 1953, i t s ta r ted c los ing down the uneconomic routes due to h igh opera t ional cos ts and poor publ ic suppor t . In 1964 BEST's long-running t ram services te rminated .

Opera t ions

BEST fer ry in Manor i Creek

A Vest ibule BEST bus . BEST no longer uses these k ind of buses

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The new CNG-powered  King Long  buses p ly on  BRTS   routes .

The BEST bus routes are spread c i ty wides and a lso to ne ighbor ing c i t ies . The BEST opera tes in ter -c i ty services to three d i f ferent a reas beyond the Munic ipa l l imi ts of Mumbai c i ty , i .e .

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in to the l imi ts of the border ing corpora t ions of  Navi Mumbai ,  Thane  andMira -Bhayandar . The BEST supplements Suburban Rai ls , which i s the mass carr ie r on Mumbai region. I t i s for th is reason tha t BEST a lways g ives pr ior i ty for feeder routes are g iven more pr ior i ty than o ther routes . The BEST uses  Compressed na tura l gas  powered and Diese l powered  Single-decker buses   and d iese l powered  double decker  buses for i t s opera t ion .

Major i ty of BEST bus consis t of Ordinary route . Limi ted bus services which skips minor s tops i s used on Long routes , h igh capaci ty routes and routes tha t provides connect iv i ty beyond Mumbai c i ty . The buses have ' Ltd   appended to routes number . 5xx Ltd numbered buses connect Navi Mumbai wi th Mumbai . Some buses l ike 503Ltd and 504Ltd go beyond Navi Mumbai Mumcipal region to  Kharghar   and  Kalambol i   a rea . Buses number 4xx most ly serve Thane and provide connect ion to Greater Mumbai and buses numbered 7xx Ltd serve Mira - Bhayandar region.

The  Mumbai BRTS   i s a Bus Rapid Trans i t Sys tem taken up in 2008 by the  Munic ipa l Corpora t ion of Greater Mumbai , B .E.S.T Under taking, and  Government of Maharasht ra   to ease the t raf f ic condi t ions of the c i ty of Mumbai , and to make publ ic t ranspor t sys tems in the c i ty safer . There are current ly seven BRTS routes .

As of 2011, the BEST runs a to ta l of 4 ,680 buses ,   fe r ry ing 4 .8 mi l l ion passengersover 365 routes , and has a  workforce   s t rength of 38 ,000, which inc ludes 22,000 bus dr ivers and conductors ( th is comes to an average of 11 .2 employees per bus) .

Bes ides buses , BEST a lso opera tes a fer ry service s ince 1981 in nor thern Mumbai , across the  Manor i Creek . The barges opera te a t regular in tervals across the shal low creek l inkingManor i   to  Marve The BEST bus service has suffered two bombings on  6 December 2002  and  28 July 2003  k i l l ing s ix people . In August 2006, BEST buses a lso in t roduced pay-phone sys tem and CCTVs on i t s buses . This was done in response to te r ror a t tacks on the c i ty’s buses and t ra ins .

Bus Route25

The routes operated by the BEST can be broadly c lass i f ied in the fo l lowing categories .

Feeder Routes : These routes which feed the ra i lway s ta t ions e i ther f rom the res ident ia l complexes or Business Dis t r ic ts .

Eas t -West Connectors : These are the routes , which run Eas t /West , where ra i lways have no ro le to p lay and connect the Western Suburb wi th the Eas tern suburb .

Trunk Routes :  These routes run South-North through the c i ty and are a lmost para l le l to the ra i lways .

BRTS Routes :   : These route runs on Western , and Eas tern Express Highways , to provide fas ter services to the commuters

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The above routes are fur ther c lass i f ied in to d i f ferent types depending on the number of s top the bus takes and type of the bus used. Ordinary buses service the Mumbai area and Limi ted bus services are most ly ca ter to ne ighbor ing region of Navi Mumbai , Thane and Mira-Bhayandar . .

RouteDisplayed (example)

Descript ion

Ordinary

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Ordinary routes are the most common, wi th buses on these routes s topping a t a l l s tops . Buses p ly ing on these routes are ident i f ied by a whi te route number on a b lack background.

Limited

511LTD

Buses on these routes s top only a t impor tant p laces and skip a l l the minor s tops in be tween on h igh volume routes . They used to have a marginal ly h igher fare and are ident i f ied by the route number in red on a whi te background. In 2008, the fares of Limi ted and ordinary buses were brought a t the same level . The route number ends wi th LTD.

Special 1 These buses p ly on se lec t

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Special

routes cover ing ra i lway terminus and the cent ra l bus iness d is t r ic ts . These routes have a fare marginal ly h igher than the 'L imi ted ' routes and are ident i f ied by the route number in whi te on a red background.

Air-Condit ioned Express

A-76EXP

These buses service long dis tance in t ra-c i ty routes , and have fares tha t a re the same as the Specia l routes , but wi th lesser number of s tops . These buses use a l l the f lyovers a long the route .

Corridor

C-42EXP

These newly s tar ted corr idor routes p ly be tween the Southern c i ty / Dis tant suburbs to the nodal points Sion / Mahim. They have fares h igher than Express Buses . These buses use a l l the f lyovers a long the route .

Air-condit ioned

AS422

These buses fares a l i t t le over four t imes the fare of an 'Ordinary ' route cover ing the same dis tance . These buses have route numbers s ta r t ing wi th A or AS.

BRTSBRTS 1

These buses p ly on the new BRTS routes .

Fare

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The BEST have severa l d i f ferent opt ions to pay the fares for the bus .

Single Journey (Paper t icket i ssued by the bus conductor) . "Dai ly t ravel as You Like" Pass ( Issued for a day) Bus Pass (Smart Card) .

The fares vary depending on the type . Paper Tickets a re va l id only for s ingle journey. Commuter a lso have the opt ion to buy Dai ly pass , Dis tance-wise bus pass va lues and Zonal pass . S tudents a re e l ig ib le for d iscounts on monthly and quar ter ly passes and senior c i t izens for d iscounts on weekly , for tn ight ly , monthly and quar ter ly passes .

Single Journey Fares

Single Journey Fares are va l id only for s ingle t r ip be tween any two points . They are i ssued on paper t icket by the bus conductor . Al l fa re payments must be made in cash . The fare depends on d is tance of the des t ina t ion . S ingle Journey fare are not va l id for t ransfers . Ordinary and Limi ted bus service have same fares .

Go Mumbai smart card

On 2 January 2007 the BEST launched mul t i -appl ica t ion smar t card ca l led  Go Mumbai . Go Mumbai card can be used for s tor ing Season t ickets , s ingle journey and extens ion t ickets  The Fares us ing bus pass can be pa id only by Go Mumbai smar t card . The Go Mumbai smar t card was subsequent ly made val id for t ravel on  Centra l Rai lway  main l ine   and  Harbour l ine . The passes fa l l in to two ca tegor ies - Dis tance wise bus pass and Zonal pass

Distance-wise bus pass values

Distance bus va lue pass are va l id only be tween two des t ina t ion (on km bas is ) on Ordinary/Limi ted bus service . Unl imi ted r ides and t ransfer a re avai lable be tween opted des t ina t ion except for s ingle r ides . The bus pass are va l id for t ravel be tween any two des t ina t ions up to a d is tance of maximum 15 Ki lometers . The commuter can opt for maximum two t ravel pa t te rns for d is tance up to maximum 15 ki lometers for each t ravel pa t te rn

Zonal Pass

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Zonal Passes can be purchased according to the service type . Except for Ci ty l imi t and Suburban l imi t pass , a l l o ther passes are va l id for ent i re BEST bus opera t ional a rea . Depot and f lee t

The nota t ion wri t ten in  Mara th i  on the f ront le f t corner of th is bus indica tes tha t the bus be longs to the Wadala Depot , and i s No. 1046.

The New Air-condi t ioned Low-Floor Tata Marcopolo be ing used on Mumbai BRTS routes . The s ign board d ip lays route no - BRTS1 heading towards Backbay Depot f rom Cadbury Junct ion (Thane )

The BEST uses compressed-natura l gas-powered buses , and convent ional d iese l buses . As of ear ly 2011, the BEST runs a to ta l of 4 ,680 buses  The f lee t comprises Single Decker Diese l Buses (2059) ,CNG Buses (1962)and 122 Diese l Double-decker buses . The AC bus f lee t cons is t s of the BEST Under taking ' s CNG powered  King Long  buses . BEST had plans to use only King Long on a i r -condi t ioned routes . But a f te r severa l compla in ts agains t Kinglongs f rom commuters , they decided to purchase 50  Volvo  buses . ]  Al l buses are tagged wi th a route number and i t s corresponding des t ina t ion . They are d isplayed in the f ront ( in  Mara th i ) , and on the s ide ( in  Engl ish ) .

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Fol lowing  cour t  d i rec t ives , the company launched l imi ted 'd isabled f r iendly ' buses on exclus ive routes in 2005 tha t have low ramps and space for wheelchai rs .  The company a lso p l ies ves t ibule buses on the c i ty ' s two  highways . These buses have a capaci ty of 110, and were in t roduced in 1997. These buses were scrapped some t ime in 2008. Unt i l the B.E.S.T. Company was taken over by the Munic ipa l i ty , only the Colaba Depot was avai lable for the maintenance of buses and minor repai rs . As the f lee t grew, the need for more depots was fe l t . In 1961 the f lee t comprised 1045 buses in a l l . S ix new depots were const ruc ted for the i r maintenance . The Wadala Depot was equipped for the maintenance of 300 buses . At th is t ime i t was the la rges t depot in Asia . Af ter th is , taking long maintenance exper ience in to account , the author i t ies dec ided tha t no depot should be ca l led on to look af ter more than 125 to 150 buses . Accordingly , smal l depots were bui l t a t convenient spots in the c i ty and i t s suburbs .

In June 2005, in order to cut cos ts , BEST decided to h i re buses f rom pr iva te opera tors ins tead of procur ing new buses . These buses would look the same as a regular bus , but the maintenance and sa lar ies would be taken care of by the pr iva te opera tors . But , t i l l 2009, no buses have been hi red by them. [ 2 1 ]  The BEST a lso p lans to ins ta l l  GPS sys tems on a l l i t s buses , to moni tor them in rea l t ime. BEST entered in to a bar ter dea l wi th M/s Amnet in 2007 to ins ta l l three CCTVs in each bus . Amnet a lso rece ived the r ights to adver t i se in the buses us ing two LCD screens .

In order to keep th is bus f lee t roadworthy, a Two-Tier Sys tem of maintenance i s fo l lowed by Transpor ta t ion Engineer ing Depar tment . A workshop loca ted cent ra l ly a t Dadar ac ts as one work cent re . Dadar workshop has a bui l t up area of 27 ,170 square meters . Al l Uni t overhaul ing , repai r ing of Body damages , tyre cut repai rs , p lant & equipment ins ta l la t ion and repai rs , rec lamat ion ac t iv i t ies a re car r ied out in the workshop.

Every depot i s another work center , which provides bus services ef fec t ive ly on every day, car r ies out prevent ive maintenance as wel l as repai rs on buses . Depots car ry out var ious maintenance prac t ices such as prevent ive maintenance , uni t replacement , RTO pass ing, body damage repai rs of buses . BEST buses are opera ted out of the 25 bus depot loca ted in four zones v iz . Ci ty , Cent ra l , Western , Eas tern suburban zones .

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BEST Bus Depot List and Routes operated from each depot

NoDepot Name

Address Major Routes

City Zone

1 ColabaElec t r ic House , Colaba , Mumbai

6*, 9 , 44 , 101, 103, 112, 122, 130, 132, 133

2 BackbayCuffe Parade Road, Backbay, Mumbai

3 , 17*, 25*, 100, 106, 108, 111, 121, 134, 137, 138, 139, C-1

3 Centra lMorland Road, Bycul la , Mumbai

26*, 30*, 41 , 42 , 48 , 62 , 91*, 104, 105, 119, 120, 123, 126, 135, 154, 155, 156, 157, 166, 351, 414*

4 Worl iOff A. B. Road, Worl i , Mumbai

27, 50 , 53 , 55 , 68 , 82 , 89 , 110, 124, 125, 161, 162, 163, 167, 171, 463,

5 Wadala

Ti lak Road, Opp. Dr . Babasaheb Ambedkar Col lege , Wadala , Mumbai

40*, 57 , 69 ,77, 151, 168, 213, 353, 411, 440*, 453*, 455*, 502*, 504*, AS-440, AS-503, C-52

Central Suburb Zone

6 Marol Centra l Road, MIDC, 2*, 22*, 35 , 184, 186, 307,

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Marol , Andher i (EAST), Mumbai

319, 324, 334, 335, 338, 340, 415, 434, 435, 443, 522*, 545*, 706*,C-46

7 DharaviBandra-Sion Link Road, Dharavi , Mumbai

11*, 46 , 52 , 66 , 70 , 75 , 76 , 87*, 164, 165, 217, 219, 303, 310, 316, 317, 449*, 615, AS-302, C-71

8 MagathaneW.E.H, Bor iva l i (Eas t ) , Mumbai

40*, 209, 233, 293, 297, 298, 299, 301, 400, 438, 462, 470*, 498*, 524*, 629*, 700*, 701*, 702*, 703*, 705*, 709*, 710*, AS-2, AS-461, AS-524, A-70Exp

9 DindoshiGoregaon–Mulund Link Road, Dindoshi , Mumbai

282, 287, 288, 289, 300, 326, 327, 341, 342, 343, 344, 346, 347, 349, 398*, 436, 450, 451, 452, 478*, 523*, 525*, 708*, 718*, AS-525, 601,

10 MajasJ .V.L.R , Jogeshwar i (Eas t ) , Mumbai

39, 264, 308, 332, 333, 349, 392, 415, 465, 441, 442, 461*, 491*, 492*, 496*, 664, AS-422, AS-551, A-75Exp

11 Kurla L.B.S. Marg, Kur la (West ) , Mumbai

37, 218, 306*, 311, 313, 318, 320, 322, 323, 332, 365, 395, 413, 418, 426, 433, 446, 507*, 517*, 609,

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618, 631, 632

Western Suburb Zone

12 BandraBandra Rly Sta t ion (West ) ,Mumbai

1 , 61 , 74 , 86 , 211, 212, 214, 215, 220, 222, 225, 321*, 371, 384, 422, 473, 505*,C-55

13 SantacruzSwami Vivekanand Road, Santacruz (West ) , Mumbai

28, 51 , 80*, 81*, 83 , 200, 224, 231, 304, 336, 339, 356*, 630, 707*, C-12, AS-505, AS-707, AS-515

14 GoregaonNear Mot i la l Nagar , Goregaon (West ) , Mumbai

31EXP, 32, 33 , 38 , 201, 203, 204, 205, 210, 234, 253, 260, 261, 262, 265, 424, 444*, 454, 479*, 707*

15 OshiwaraOshiwara Vi l lage , Goregaon (West ) , Mumbai

4*, 56 , 84*, 221, 223*, 235, 236, 238, 242, 248, 249, 251, 252, 254, 257, 266, 268, 328, 330*, 425, 469*, AS-4, A-74Exp

16 PoisarSwami Vivekanand Road, Kandival i (West ) , Mumbai

203, 206, 244, 246, 274, 275, 276, 277, 278, 279, 280, 281, 283, 285, 286, 291, 290*, AS-388

17 Gorai Lokmanya Ti lak Road, Gora i , Mumbai

79, 202*, 208, 226*, 228, 229, 230, 237, 239, 240, 245, 247, 259, 269, 294,

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296, 309*, 460*, 461*, 464*, 720*, AS-458, A-76Exp, A-77Exp, C-62

18 MalwaniMalwani , Malad (West ) , Mumbai

180, 207, 241, 243, 256, 271, 272, 273, 359*, 456, 459*, 601, 611, 621, 622, 624, 625

Eastern Suburb Zone

19 AnikSal t -pan Road, Wadala , Mumbai

5 , 58 , 59 , 60 , 63 , 85 , 170, 173, 348, 352, 361, 362, 363, 367, 369, 431, 501*, 503*, AS-3, AS-9, C-43, C-72

20Pra t iksha Nagar

Sal t -pan Road, Wadala , Mumbai

14, 15 , 43 , 45 , 64 , 67 , 88 , 169, 172, 174, 181, 255*, 302, 312, 448*, 509*, C-42,

21 DeonarSion–Trombay Road, Deonar , Mumbai

21*, 92*, 93*, 355*, 360, 364, 374*, 378, 380, 382*, 399*, 493*, 506*, 519*, 520*, 521*, 664, AS-592, C-60

22Shivaj i Nagar

Govandi , Shivaj i Nagar , Mumbai

8*, 19*, 20*, 329, 337, 350, 357, 366, 375*, 376*, 383, 476*, 488*, 489*, 508*, 518*

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23 GhatkoparGhatkopar (Eas t ) , Mumbai

10*, 185, 305, 325, 354, 379, 381, 385, 386, 388*, 389, 390, 393, 394, 397, 404, 406, 416, 419, 421, 429, 430, 470*, 481, 494*, 499*, 510*, 511*, 533*, C-53, C-45

24 Vikhrol iL.B.S Marg, Vikrol i (West ) , Mumbai

7*, 340, 387, 410, 417, 423, 478*, 497*, 500*, 602, 603, 604, 605, 606, 607, 608

25 MulundDevidayal Road, Mulund (West ) , Mumbai

368*, 370, 373*, 396*, 401, 402, 403*, 405, 407, 408, 409*, 412, 484*, 495, 512*, 513*, 514*, AS-1, AS-5, AS-512, AS-700, A-13Exp, C-61,C-44

[edi t ]BEST Transpor t Museum

The BEST Transpor t Museum is loca ted a t Anik Bus depot a t  Wadala  near IMAX theater . The museum was founded by P D Paranjape , a BEST off icer who re l ig ious ly col lec ted bus t ickets , engines , t icket - i ssuing machines f rom depots across the c i ty . The museum was se t up in 1984 a t BEST’s Kur la depot , but was la ter sh i f ted to Anik depot in 1993.  The museum t races the evolut ion of BEST. I t houses mini models of charming old BEST buses and ancient t rams. Hand-wri t ten p lacards in Mara th i and photographs are a lso on d isplay for publ ic . Ent ry to the museum is f ree

Organisa t ion

The company is headed by a Genera l Manager , current ly  O.P.Gupta . The t raf f ic depar tment i s overseen by an 'Ass is tant Genera l Manager (Traff ic Opera t ions) ' , and ass is ted by the 'Chief Traff ic Manager (Sr . ) ' . The 'Chief Traff ic Manager ' oversees the f ive BEST zones , each headed by a 'Traf f ic

36

Manager ' . Each zone consis ts of 5 to 6 depots , whose opera t ions are overseen by an 'Ass is tant Genera l Manager (Traff ic Opera t ion) ' . The c i ty i s d iv ided in to 25 depots headed by The Depot Managers . The Traff ic Off icers , Ass is tant Traff ic Off icers and Sr . Ass t . /Off ice Ass t . ass is t the Depot Managers .

The Bus Running Control (BRC) Off icer mans the Traff ic Control Room, round the c lock. The sec t ion has a  VHF se t   and hot l ines connect ing a l l the depots and a lso Pol ice Control , Traff ic Pol ice Control , Rai lways , e tc .

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Methodology

Research methodology is a way to systematically show the research problem. Itmay be understood as a science of

studying how research is done scientif ical ly. I t isn e c e s s a r y   f o r   t h e   r e s e a r c h e r   t o   k n o w   n o t   o n l y   t h e  

r e s e a r c h   m e t h o d s   b u t   a l s o   t h e methodology.This Section includes the methodology which includes. The research design,

objectives of study, scope of study along with research methodology and limitations of study etc.

To know the Customers perceptions about home loans of HDFC housing developmentfinance corporation LTD.

•

To study the satisfaction level of customers about home loans.•

To study the problems faced by customers in obtaining the home loans.•

To make comparative study of disbursement of home loans by commercial banks, thestudy shall be conducted in the manner

enumerated below-3.1- RESEARCH DESIGN:-

This project is based on exploratory study as well descriptive study. I t was anexploratory study when the customer satisfaction level was studied to suggest new methodsto improve the

services of HDFC LTD in providing home loans and it was descriptivestudy when detailed study was made for comparison

of disbursement of home loans bycommercial banks.3.2 – SOURCES OF DATA :-

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LIMITATIONS

This study also includes some limitations which have been discussed as follows:

i) The sample size of 100 customers and 4 banks might prove a limitation because of difficulty in generalization of results.

ii) To collect the data from various banks was quite difficult due to non- cooperation of some banks. This proved to be major limitation of the study.

iii) To access such a large number of customers was difficult because of non-cooperativeattitude of respondents.

iv) Lack of data was also the other limitation of the study as some of banks do not have proper data on topic.

v) There was limitation of time to conduct such a big survey in limited available time.

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