Anand Mahindra gets emotional as Mumbai bids adieu to iconic red double-decker buses. See post

livemint.com:

As Mumbai bids adieu to iconic red double-decker buses, Mahindra Group Chairman Anand Mahindra shared an emotional post. The red double-decker buses, which have been an integral part of Mumbai's public transport system for more than 80 years, will go off the streets this week. Besides, the open-deck double-decker buses, which have served as sightseeing buses for tourists since the 1990s, will also disappear from the city streets in the first week of October.

Yesterday, several bus drivers, conductors, and commuters gathered to bid goodbye to the non-AC diesel Double Decker Bus in Mumbai. As these buses were going off the roads forever, Mahindra took to the X platform and expressed sadness regarding the exit of red double-decker buses from the city. Anand Mahindra wrote, "Hello, Mumbai Police? I’d like to report the theft of one of my most important childhood memories".

Meanwhile, commuter groups and bus enthusiasts have urged BEST to preserve at least two of these iconic vehicles at its Anik depot-based museum. They have also written to the Maharashtra chief minister, tourism minister, and the BEST administration to preserve at least two buses. Red double-decker buses were introduced in the city's public transport system in 1937, and they have since become symbolic of the city itself and interestingly, have also featured in songs of Bollywood movies set in Mumbai.

At the beginning of the 1990s, the BEST had a fleet of around 900 double-decker buses, but the number gradually declined after the mid-90s. Citing the high operating cost, the BEST administration stopped inducting double-decker buses after 2008. The BEST since February this year started replacing these iconic buses with leased battery-run red and black