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 Electric House, Colaba, headquarters of BEST. | |
| Formerly | 1873 as Bombay Tramway Company Limited (Horsecar) ---- 1905 as Bombay Electric Supply & Tramways Company Limited (BEST) (Tramways and Electricity) ---- 1947 as Bombay Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) (Transport and Electricity) ---- 1995 as Brihanmumbai Electric Supply & Transport (BEST) (Transport and Electricity) |
|---|---|
| Company type | Autonomous State-owned enterprise |
| Industry | Public transport - Tram (1873–1964), Trolleybus (1962-1971), Bus (1926–present) ---- Electricity (1905–present) |
| Founded | Mumbai (1873) |
| Headquarters | Electric House, Colaba, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India |
Key people | Anil Diggikar, GM; Chairman - Ashish Chemburkar |
| Revenue |  ₹ 2,353.4 million ($538.7m USD) (2004) |
 ₹620.4 million. ($14.2m USD) (2004) | |
Number of employees | 44000 (2005) |
| Parent | Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai |
| Website | www.bestundertaking.com |
The Brihanmumbai Electricity Supply and Transport Undertaking (BEST) is a civic transport and electricity provider public body based in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. It was originally set up in 1873 as a tramway company called "Bombay Tramway Company Limited". The company set up a captive thermal power station at the Wadi bunder in November 1905 to generate electricity for its trams and positioned it to also supply electricity to the city and re-branded itself to "Bombay Electric Supply & Tramways (BEST)" Company. In 1926, BEST also became an operator of motor buses. In 1947, the BEST became an undertaking of the Municipal Corporation and rebranded itself to "Bombay Electric Supply & Transport (BEST)". In 1995 the organisation was renamed to "Brihanmumbai Electric Supply & Transport (BEST)" alongside Mumbai. It now operates as an autonomous body under the Municipal Corporation.
BEST operates one of India's largest fleets of buses. The bus transport service covers the entire city and also extends its operations outside city limits into neighbouring urban areas. In addition to buses, it also operates a ferry service in the northern reaches of the city. The electricity division of the organisation is also one of the few electricity departments in India to garner an annual gross profit.