Daijiworld Media Network - Mumbai

Mumbai, Oct 23: A Mumbai BEST committee member has alleged financial irregularities in the billing system of the Chalo App used by the Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) undertaking and demanded a detailed investigation by the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Mumbai Police.

Raising the issue at a committee meeting on Thursday, Ajay Singh alleged that BEST was making payments to the app operator based on 30 lakh commuters, despite the undertaking carrying around 22 lakh passengers daily and only two lakh actively using the app.

According to Singh, at a rate of 13 paise per ticket for 30 lakh passengers, the operator receives nearly Rs 3.90 lakh daily, amounting to Rs 1.17 crore a month and Rs 14.23 crore annually. He questioned the justification for making payments based on 30 lakh users when the number of active app users was significantly lower.

Responding to the allegations, Chalo said its contract covered technology deployment for every ticket issued, crew planning and revenue reconciliation across all payment modes, rather than only digital ticketing. The company said BEST had paid significantly more per ticket before adopting its integrated system.

Chalo also clarified that hardware had been deployed across 3,300 buses when ridership stood at 30 lakh, making that figure the minimum guarantee under the tender. It said such minimum-guarantee clauses were standard practice in agreements involving state transport undertakings.

The company further claimed that more than 50 per cent of commuters use its platform and that 100 per cent ticket issuance inside buses had been achieved. It also said the project had received several national awards and served as a benchmark model for state transport undertakings.