A BEST spokesperson told news agency PTI that employees of the private bus operator SMT, also known as the Daga Group, stopped work at Ghatkopar and Mulund depots of BEST in the eastern suburbs over their demand for salary hike, affecting services on several bus routes.

The report further states that the BEST undertaking has hired buses from a few contractors including the Daga Group on a wet lease model. In a wet lease model, private operators own the vehicles, besides holding the responsibility of maintenance, fuel and salaries of drivers.

This is not the first time the flash strike took place. Earlier on 18 July, 30 drivers of wet lease buses at Wadala bus depot had gone on a flash strike, a report by Hindustan Times stated.

BEST ferries around 30 lakh passengers per day in Mumbai and neighbouring areas in Thane, Mira-Bhayander and Navi Mumbai.

Meanwhile, earlier on 28 July, the number of double-decker electric buses with BEST undertaking reached 24 after 10 new ones joined the fleet of the civic-run transporter. These 10 buses, which have arrived at the undertaking’s Colaba depot after a gap of two months, will be deployed for public service after completion of RTO registration and other formalities possibly by next week, official said as reported by PTI.

BEST now has more double decker electric buses than conventional double decker ones whose number has fallen below 20 post scrapping of older vehicles. The fleet size of BEST currently stands at 3,100, several of which have been taken on wet lease, a mechanism in which private contractors take care of fuel, maintenance and salaries of drivers.

(With inputs from PTI)

Updated: 02 Aug 2023, 10:42 AM IST