invitation for lecture by Dunu Roy, expert on urban transport, and others. press conference. Mumbai Marathi Patrakar Sangh. 26 march, 4.30 p.m. to 6.30 p.m.
vidyadhar date
Aamchi Mumbai Aamchi BEST
Press conference and public meeting
Will Contractualisation and Creeping Privatisation Solve BEST's Problems,
or Worsen Them?
BEST, Mumbai’s second lifeline, has been much in the news recently: a financial crisis, longer waits at bus stops, and discontent among its workers. For all these problems, the BMC Commissioner and the BEST management have just one solution: what they term ‘wet-leasing’.
Under ‘wet-leasing’, the BEST would engage private contractors to operate BEST services. The contractors would supply both buses and drivers. The BEST management claim that this will save BEST a large amount of money. In other words, they propose contractualisation and creeping privatisation as the answer to BEST’s problems.
In fact, the scheme will create a new set of problems without resolving the existing ones. Delhi was the laboratory of public bus ‘reforms’ since the 1990s, and has suffered as a result. In Maharashtra, the State Road Transport Corporation has adopted similar measures, with harmful consequences. And a close analysis of BEST’s wet-leasing scheme too throws up serious questions. What we need instead is a revival of BEST as the outstanding public service it once used to be, in terms of frequency, affordability, reach, and quality.
Dunu Roy, Director, Hazards Centre, Delhi; Senior Fellow, Centre for Public Affairs and Critical Theory, Shiv Nadar University, will speak about the ‘reforms’ in Delhi.
Hanumant Tate, general secretary, Maharashtra State Transport Kamgar Sanghatana, will speak about the effects of this scheme in MSRTC.
Venue: Mumbai Marathi Patrakar Sangh
Time: 4.30 to 5.30 (Press Conference)
5.30 to 6.30pm (Public Meeting)
Date: 26th March 2019
Vidyadhar Date, Convenor, Aamchi Mumbai Aamchi BEST