Mumbai: For the second consecutive day, commuters in Mumbai faced disruptions as drivers of wet lease buses staged a strike on Friday morning, leaving over 95 buses from the Mumbai Central depot off the roads during peak hours. The striking drivers, employed by Olectra, demanded timely payment of their salaries, which were delayed.
The Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) undertaking, however, quickly deployed 35 of its own drivers to resume operations by 2 PM. Despite the intervention, 12 bus routes remained badly affected, causing inconvenience to hundreds of passengers.
According to sources, the wet lease drivers stopped work after their salaries were not credited by Friday morning, escalating tensions. A similar strike on Thursday had disrupted services from the Kala Killa depot, though operations resumed by evening once salaries were disbursed.
According to sources, the striking drivers are employed by Morya Trans Facility, a Pune-based subcontractor that supplies driving staff to Olectra, which leases buses to BEST. While the company has now agreed to pay the delayed salaries, the drivers have raised additional demands, including holiday benefits and wages for extra hours.
“We are trying our best to resolve the matter as soon as possible. Discussions are ongoing to address these new demands,” said an official involved in the negotiations.
This is the third flash strike by wet lease drivers in a week. On January 13, drivers employed by another contractor, Mateshwari Company, also went on strike at the Dharavi and Pratiksha Nagar depots, causing significant disruptions.
“The repeated strikes highlight the challenges of relying on private contractors for public transportation services. Issues like delayed salaries and unmet demands expose the financial and operational instability of companies like Olectra and their subcontractors,” said a BEST employee on condition of anonymity.
BEST has a fleet of nearly 3,000 buses, including two-thirds wet lease buses, and ferries more than 30 lakh passengers daily. BEST provides public bus services to Mumbai and neighboring Thane, Navi Mumbai, and Mira-Bhayander cities.
