BEST bus drivers go on flash strike, passengers face commuting delays

Passengers travelling by BEST buses in the city faced commuting woes due to the low bus turnout on Monday as 30 drivers of wet lease buses at Wadala bus depot went on a flash strike.

Passengers travelling by Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) buses in the city faced commuting woes due to the low bus turnout on Monday as 30 drivers of wet lease buses at Wadala bus depot went on a flash strike. From the Wadala bus depot, 69 buses did not turn out.

BEST bus parked at Bus Depot, Borivali (Pramod Thakur/ Hindustan Times)

Wet lease buses are not owned by BEST, the organisation pays contractors who operate the buses, drivers and conductors.

Wet lease buses are not owned by BEST, the organisation pays contractors who operate the buses, drivers and conductors.

In an effort to compensate for the unavailable buses, the BEST operated 23 additional buses from the depot on Monday.

“I had to wait for 30 minutes to get a bus today, which delayed my deliveries,” said Sarita Karade, 35, who runs a tiffin service in Wadala and uses the BEST buses to make his deliveries.

People also complained about overcrowded buses. “The buses were overcrowded today as they were operating with delays. There was crowding during the morning peak-hour near Parel. I was trying to get a bus towards KEM hospital,” said Abhishek Pandey, a 25-year-old management student.

“I was delayed travelling to my workplace, due to the long queues. I had to wait for 20 minutes to board a bus, which I would have otherwise gotten in 10 minutes,” said Aarti Chawla, a 29-year-old working in a private firm.

According to BEST, the drivers were angry after a few that arrived late for duty on Sunday were questioned by the authorities.

Drivers of the wet lease buses had also protested on Sunday. Consequently, 43 buses did not leave the Wadala bus depot.

“Earlier, the issue was of delay in salary payments, due to which such strikes were organised, but that was attended to. This strike has come as a surprise to us as well. The contractor has been asked to resolve the issue immediately,” said a senior BEST official who did not want to be named.

The BEST has served the wet lease contractor a notice and is charging them a fine of ₹5,000 per bus. “The organisation has operated additional buses and there is no route that does not have buses. We have asked them to immediately resolve the issue,” said Lokesh Chandra, general manager, BEST.