The last ride: Mumbai bids farewell to iconic double-decker buses today

Mumbai's iconic red double-decker buses will cease operations from September 15, according to a report by news agency PTI. An official from the Brihanmumbai Electricity Supply and Transport (BEST) Undertaking confirmed this on September 12.

The open-deck double-decker buses will also will be pulled from the city streets on October 5, according to the BEST official

 Red double-decker buses were introduced in Mumbai in 1937, and they have since become an iconic symbol of the city.

"Currently, just seven double-decker buses, including three open-deck buses, are left in the BEST's fleet. As these vehicles are completing 15 years of their life, the double-decker buses will forever go off roads from September 15, while the open-deck buses will be pulled out on October 5," a BEST spokesperson said.

At the beginning of the 1990s, the BEST had a fleet of around 900 double-decker buses, but the number slowly fell after the mid-90s.

Commuter groups and bus enthusiasts have extolled BEST to preserve at least two of these vehicles at its Anik depot-based museum and have written to the Maharashtra chief minister, tourism minister and the BEST administration.

The BEST administration stopped inducting double-decker buses after 2008, citing rising operating costs. Since February, BEST has begun replacing these iconic buses with battery-run red and black double-decker buses. Last week, The BEST said it is going to procure open-deck buses for sighting-seeing, and it has already started the process of acquiring them.

Some commuters told PTI that the battery-run buses are comfortable, but they lack the charm of the older buses.

A bus enthusiast was quoted as saying that commuters will miss sitting in the front in the old buses and traveling with the breeze from the open windows on their faces.