Mumbai: BEST Bus Strike Intensifies, Affecting Passengers As 1,300 Vehicles Refuse To Leave The Depot Today

On the third day of the strike, the Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) bus strike got worse, forcing more than 1300 buses off the road. Private bus drivers called for the strike in order to demand a rise in pay.

Mumbai Bus Strike is termed the Best Strike

The BEST strike, according to the news agency PTI, has put passengers through a great deal of hardship because private BEST buses failed to depart from 20 depots, including Colaba, Worli, Majas, Shivaji Nagar, Ghatkopar, Deonar, Mulund, Santacruz, Oshiwara, and Magathane.

SMT and Daga group bus drivers go on strike

Private bus drivers from SMT or the Daga Group went on strike at the depots in Ghatkopar and Mulund in protest over a pay cut. On the first day of the strikes, 160 hired buses were not in service. On Thursday, more than 1,000 buses did not depart from the depots, and on the third day, 1,375 of the 1,671 leased buses did not depart from the depots.

According to a BEST representative who reported on Friday, “On the third day, the strike by drivers of private bus operators for the salary increase and other demands escalated. On Thursday, the majority of drivers from the BEST’s four largest private bus companies—Mateshwari, SMT, Hansa, and Tata Motors—joined the strike.

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BEST

BEST has hired buses using a wet lease model, which implies that private operators are in charge of paying for the ownership, upkeep, fuel, and driver expenses of the vehicles. The drivers who are protesting claim that the lack of significant pay increases over the past three years has made it challenging for them to pay for their living expenses. Private drivers claim that, in comparison to BEST workers, their pay is extremely low.

In the interim, BEST has urged the private operators to find a swift solution and has even threatened to take the required legal action against them in accordance with the leasing agreement.