Mumbai's electric bus push sparks driver

Mumbai's public bus operator, BEST, aims to fully electrify its fleet of 2,743 buses by 2027. As of December 2025, nearly half of those buses were already electric, according to multiple reports cited by Dialogue Earth.

This transition is a key part of India's broader decarbonisation goals. In 2019, transport accounted for 20 percent of Mumbai's total greenhouse gas emissions. The city has committed to a 30 percent reduction by 2030 and aims for net zero by 2050.

From subsidies to private contracts

The push for e-buses has shifted from a subsidy model to a public-private partnership. Earlier policies focused on subsidising purchases for state operators like BEST. More recent programs, including the 2023 PM e-Bus Sewa, promote a "gross cost contract" (GCC) or "wet-lease" model.

Under this model, private operators procure and maintain the e-buses. The state-owned BEST pays a per-kilometre fee. Anumita Roychowdhury, executive director of the Centre for Science and Environment, tells Dialogue Earth this shifts operational and technological risks to a third party. It converts a high fixed cost into payments over 10-12 years.

Shashank Rao, general secretary of the BEST Workers' Union, says the idea was that wet-leasing would cut costs and provide efficient services. However, unions argue it is shrinking the public-sector workforce and putting drivers in a precarious position.

Precarity of labour

The contract model has altered how drivers are employed. It replaces permanent BEST employees with short-term contractual workers, notes researcher Anumita Roychowdhury. This pushes drivers into an "informal gig-worker category," she says.

One driver, who spoke to Dialogue Earth under the pseudonym Suresh Gaikwad, started driving a BEST electric bus in 2019 for a private contractor. Seven years later, his monthly salary is 19,300 Indian rupees (US$202). He gets one day off a week and no other benefits. Shifts can last 12-15 hours, excluding breaks, with no overtime pay.

"When emergencies demand that we go on leave, the contractors deduct salaries," Gaikwad says. Traffic fines are also deducted, sometimes leaving him with just 12,000-13,000 rupees (US$126-136). He asks, "How are we supposed to handle household and personal expenditures?"

Union leader Shashank Rao states a newly recruited permanent BEST driver would earn a minimum of about 39,000 rupees (US$410) monthly, plus benefits. He claims BEST has not hired for a permanent driving position since 2015. Dialogue Earth notes it could not independently verify this detail.

Contract workers are also denied medical benefits and access to depot washrooms available to permanent staff. Gaikwad is worried for women conductors who change at work. "Where will these women change if they are denied access to washrooms?" he asks. Jobs are not secure, and drivers fear raising concerns could lead to termination.

Poor maintenance and safety standards

A series of accidents has raised questions about e-bus safety and maintenance. In June 2026, a BEST e-bus crash left one person dead and six injured. The driver reportedly blamed a technical issue. Another accident this month injured three people, with bus driver error reported as the cause.

Drivers told Dialogue Earth that contractors make candidates drive just a few kilometres as a test, with little training on the new electric vehicles. Rupesh Shelatkar, founder of Aapli BEST Aaplyachsathi, stated in the source report: "This lack of adequate attention to preventive maintenance has resulted in a decline in fleet reliability and has raised concerns regarding operational safety."

Both Gaikwad and Rao say poor working conditions push workers to leave, creating a staff shortage that affects city residents. Roychowdhury of CSE argues for a review of the contractual model to ensure wage parity, social security, and occupational safety across the bus sector.