He was speaking in the legislative council during the ongoing winter session of the state legislature here.
The BEST undertaking has already completed tender work for 3,000 electric buses and 200 buses that run on compressed natural gas (CNG), said Samant responding to a query by Shiv Sena (UBT) members of legislative council (MLC) Vilas Potnis and Sunil Shinde.
Of these 3,000 e-buses, 900 will be double-deckers, he said, adding that the CNG buses will be single-deckers.
Samant said BEST plans to transition its entire bus fleet powered by non-polluting fuel by 2027 in its attempt to enhance passenger convenience and reduce Mumbai’s carbon footprints.
The move aligns with the growing demand for sustainable public transportation as the number of daily passengers on BEST buses increased to 33 lakh in 2018-19, he said.