BEST aims for better bucket seats

After MiD DAY report, BEST terminates contract of company that installed damaged bucket seats that were injuring passengers

After MiD DAY reported how the bucket seats on the Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) buses were badly damaged in over 1,600 buses ('BEST buses have their screws loose', April 21, 2011) BEST authorities have terminated the contract of the company responsible for installing the seats.


The story where MiDDAY had broken the news of the damaged bucket
seats

The headrest of the bucket seats, which, ironically, replaced the older seats on BEST buses in 2008, had come loose, causing metal rods to jut out and hurt passengers. BEST officials had been receiving several complaints regarding the damaged bucket seats. Several passengers had been hurt during rush hours.

Sunil Shinde, BEST Committee chairman said, "We have terminated the contract of the company that was installing the seats. It was a major issue for us as passengers are our priority. A new contractor has been appointed and the new company has already started working on the replacements and repairs of the seats."

But the problem may lie with the design of the seats themselves. According to a BEST official, the headrests of the bucket seats are fitted with just two screws. During rush hours, passengers are forced on to hold the headrest to keep their balance, and this happens multiple times in a day. "Also the quality of the seats was not up to the mark, causing them to get damaged much before the warranty period of one year. We started having maintenance issues and getting complaints from passengers within the first year itself," he claimed.

Out of a total of 4,700 buses plying the city's roads, bucket seats have been fitted in 1,696 buses. The contract was given to a company called Tinta Media Creations, a sister concern of Emnet Sansara Media, responsible for installing CCTVs and LCD screens in a number of buses. It was supposed to install the bucket seats in the BEST's entire fleet.