Mumbaiites suffer as BEST, WR staff strike during peak hours

It was a terrible Thursday for lakhs of Mumbaiites using trains and buses for their daily commute. While the Western Railway (WR) motormen went on a flash strike during the evening peak hours, the strike by BEST drivers and conductors made road travel a nightmare.

It was a terrible Thursday for lakhs of Mumbaiites using trains and buses for their daily commute. While the Western Railway (WR) motormen went on a flash strike during the evening peak hours, the strike by BEST drivers and conductors made road travel a nightmare.

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Around 43 lakh daily bus commuters were affected by the BEST strike as more than 80%, or 3,200, buses did not ply on the roads. To make matters worse, the train services on WR were affected between 4pm and 5,30pm as around 80 motormen reported ‘sick’ to protest the suspension of a motorman.

While irked commuters, mostly office-goers returning home, attacked motormen at the Churchgate station, the police arrested 120 BEST staffers for damaging 141 buses.