1,009 BEST wet lease buses off the road, commuters in turmoil

On August 3, wet-lease drivers from different bus depots congregated at Azad Maidan. “Around 2,500 to 3,000 drivers came out in full support to our cause, demanding an increase in their salaries,” said Raghunath Khajurkar, who works for one of the wet-lease operators and is leading the strike. “We will come to Azad Maidan every day and leave in the evening. Our strike will continue”

Mumbai: Thursday turned out to be a disaster for lakhs of Mumbai commuters who were caught unawares by a strike of 1,009 BEST buses operated on a wet lease. The buses went off the road after the drivers of all four wet-lease operators joined the SMT Daga Group drivers’ flash strike, which had begun on August 1. More drivers are expected to join on August 4.

The strike affected bus movement from 12 depots, namely Worli, Prateeksha Nagar, Anik, Dharavi, Deonar, Shivaji Nagar, Ghatkopar, Mulund, Majas, Santacruz, Gorai, and Magathane. Members of BEST unions, political parties and former BEST committee members went to Azad Maidan to meet the drivers. (Satish Bate/ HT PHOTO)

On August 3, wet-lease drivers from different bus depots congregated at Azad Maidan. “Around 2,500 to 3,000 drivers came out in full support to our cause, demanding an increase in their salaries,” said Raghunath Khajurkar, who works for one of the wet-lease operators and is leading the strike. “We will come to Azad Maidan every day and leave in the evening. Our strike will continue.”

The strike affected bus movement from 12 depots, namely Worli, Prateeksha Nagar, Anik, Dharavi, Deonar, Shivaji Nagar, Ghatkopar, Mulund, Majas, Santacruz, Gorai, and Magathane. Members of BEST unions, political parties and former BEST committee members went to Azad Maidan to meet the drivers.

Wet lease tightens noose around BEST’s neck

The BEST undertaking has 3,082 buses in its fleet, of which 1,671 operate on a wet lease. On August 3, of the 1,671 buses, only 662 buses or close to 40 percent of the fleet was on the road.

“Most wet-lease buses on strike were from SMT Daga, Mateshwari and Tata Motors,” said Sunil Vaidya, BEST spokesperson. “We are in talks with the wet-lease operators and have asked them to resolve the matter. Necessary action will be taken as per the contract against them.”

The drivers are demanding an increase in salary, on par with that given to BEST drivers, and free bus passes. “We haven’t got a salary hike for over three years. I am taking home ₹16,000 per month, which is not enough to run a family,” said wet-lease driver Malhar Sarpute. Another driver, Sachin Bhedate, reiterated that wet-lease drivers were entitled to the same salaries as BEST drivers, as the job profiles were the same. “Why aren’t we given bus passes like them to reach our depots?” he questioned. “I come from Navi Mumbai and travelling is a significant expense.”

A spokesperson for the SMT Daga Group said they were caught unawares. “We were not informed by our drivers that they were going to strike work,” he said. “We are willing to have a discussion with them but they should come and meet us. We are trying to resolve this issue. Out of 579 buses from our fleet, only 108 buses ran, while only 127 drivers turned up out of 1,737 drivers working for us.”

While the BEST authorities said they would levy fines of ₹5,000 per bus for every day of not plying, aggrieved commuters complained about such frequent strikes by wet lease operators. “We had to take auto rickshaws, as there were long queues for the few BEST buses that were operating,” said Kailash Verma, resident of Andheri (E) who was travelling to Ghatkopar.

Aamchi Mumbai Aamchi BEST (AMAB), a citizens’ forum for affordable public transport, blamed the BMC for introducing the wet lease system in the first place. “We are demanding that they end the contract system and double their bus fleet to 6,000 buses. To press our demands, we will hold a protest on August 7 which is ‘BEST Divas’ day,” said Hussain Indorewala, co-convenor of AMAB.