MUMBAI: As a replacement, BEST plans to bring in smaller AC buses (18-20 seater), on the lines of what Gurgaon has, with Passenger Information System . Patil said, “These state-of-the-art buses will allow commuters to know the waiting time at each bus stop. Even with 90% accuracy, we hope to get a good patronage.“ For 2017-18, the transport wing has projected a loss of Rs 1,026 crore, of which around 50% can be recouped due to cross-subsidy from power division. The overall deficit of BEST was Rs 590 crore in last financial year. The condition is so grave that the undertaking struggled to release its employees' salaries on time for March. In a set back to around 20,000 commuters, BEST has decided to suspend all its air-conditioned bus routes from Monday to cut losses.TOI was the first to report about BEST's proposal to scrap AC buses and increase fares by up to Rs 4 to offset losses. BEST has 266 AC buses and they ply on 25 routes across the city . Low patronage, high maintenance costs and poor fuel efficiency of the AC buses has burdened the transport undertaking, which is already in the red. An AC bus has been carrying an average of 100 passengers a day as compared to the 900 ferried by a non-AC bus everyday .This move could put the city at a disadvantage as it is rare to find financial powerhouses like Mumbai going without AC buses. After scrapping the AC buses, BEST plans to introduce more non-AC buses so that it can cater to more number of passengers. BEST general manager Jagdish Patil said, “Suspension of AC services will translate into savings of around Rs 200 crore.“There are 219 AC passholders who will now be allowed to travel by non-AC buses on the routes that they have the pass for. BEST will soon come up with a policy for refund to passholders. BEST's leader of opposition Ravi Raja said, “It is welcome step and ideally , this decision should have been taken four to five years ago.“