Mumbai bus drivers resist electrification push

Mumbai’s iconic red BEST buses, a staple of the city’s public transport since 1926, are undergoing a shift from diesel to electric power. As of December 2025, nearly half of Mumbai’s 2,743 BEST buses are electric, part of India’s ambitious public transport decarbonisation efforts. BEST aims for full electrification by 2027, but the transition has altered employment terms for drivers, pushing them into precarious work conditions.

Labour precarity under wet-lease contracts

The shift to electric buses has seen BEST adopt a “wet-lease” model, where private operators procure and maintain the buses while BEST pays a per-kilometre fee. This model replaces permanent BEST employees with short-term contractual workers, notes Anumita Roychowdhury of the Centre for Science and Environment. Drivers now face job insecurity, lower wages and fewer benefits compared to permanent staff.

Suresh Gaikwad, a contracted driver since 2019, earns INR 19,300 (USD 202) monthly, a 13.5% increase from his starting salary. He works 12-15 hour shifts without overtime pay and receives only one day off weekly. Deductions for leave or traffic infractions can reduce his take-home pay to INR 12,000-13,000 (USD 126-136). "How are we supposed to handle household and personal expenditures?" he asks.

Shashank Rao, general secretary of the BEST Workers’ Union, highlights the disparity in pay. A newly recruited permanent BEST driver would earn around INR 39,000 (USD 410) monthly, with additional benefits. However, BEST has not hired permanent drivers since 2015. Contracted workers also lack medical benefits and access to depot facilities, including washrooms, which are available to permanent staff.

Safety concerns and maintenance issues

The transition has also raised safety concerns. In June 2026, a BEST e-bus crash killed one person and injured six, with the driver citing a technical issue. Another accident this month injured three people, with driver error reported as the cause. Drivers claim contractors inadequately train new hires, often due to staff shortages.

Rao argues that the wet-lease model has led to poor maintenance and safety standards. Contractors, he says, prioritise cost-cutting over proper training and vehicle upkeep. The BEST Workers’ Union has demanded wage parity and better working conditions for contracted workers.

Policy shifts and environmental goals

Mumbai’s electrification push aligns with its Climate Action Plan, which aims to reduce emissions by 30% by 2030 and 44% by 2040, reaching net zero by 2050. Transport accounts for 20% of the city’s greenhouse gas emissions. The life-cycle emissions of EVs in India are around 65% that of internal combustion engine vehicles, with improvements expected.

India’s early electric mobility policies subsidised e-bus purchases for public transport providers. However, the high cost of e-buses-30-70% more than diesel buses-has made this model unsustainable for many providers. The International Energy Agency notes that fare hikes are typically limited by regulation, leaving few financing options for e-buses.

More recent policies, such as the National Electric Bus Programme in 2022 and PM e-Bus Sewa in 2023, promote public-private partnerships through gross cost contracts. This model shifts operational and technological risks to private operators, allowing governments to convert high fixed costs into payments over 10-12 years.

However, labour unions argue that this model shrinks the public-sector workforce, leaving drivers in precarious positions. Roychowdhury calls for reforms to ensure wage parity, social security and labour rights across the bus sector.