One of the well-known and distinctive features of Mumbai or Bombay as it used to be known in the past was the red coloured double-decker buses which have been featured in several Bollywood movies also. With the last 48 of these iconic buses set to be phased out by next year, Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport has begun inducting new double-decker air-conditioned e-buses.

Inaugurated by the Union Transport Minister, Nitin Gadkari, Mumbai is the first Indian city to have these buses. In the first batch 15 buses will be rolled out in a month’s time.

Spotted Mumbai's new BEST Double Decker Bus! #BEST #DoubleDecker@myBESTBus @chaloapp @m_indicator @mumbaitraffic @RidlrMUM @traffic_mumbai pic.twitter.com/q5qLIxXrmi

— Suraj Wadekar (@WadekarSuraj) August 17, 2022

In 1937 double-deckers were introduced by the British in the city and they operated on 26 routes right up to the 1990s. Apart from providing ease of travel to the daily commuters, the city dwellers and visitors also enjoyed the scenic beauty of Mumbai sitting in the top deck. There were 900 such vehicles operating at one point of time.

With availability of spare parts becoming difficult and expensive, BEST decided to phase these buses which were not fuel efficient.

Now BEST plans to bring 900 such buses on a wet lease basis in a phased manner.

The Switch bus which was inaugurated can ferry double the number of passengers than a single-deck one and it is fitted with contemporary styling and beautiful interiors and exteriors. They have wide front and rear doors, two staircases and an emergency door while the air-conditioning offers relief to the passengers.

Its seating capacity is 65 and its seats have a lightweight cushion.