BEST bus users faced commuting woes due to low bus turnout on Tuesday, as around 60 regular drivers of wet lease buses at Wadala bus depot were not available. A section of wet lease bus drivers from the Wadala depot has been agitating since Sunday.
However, on Tuesday, BEST claimed that the ‘issue’ has been resolved and all buses will run as per schedule from Wednesday.
Lokesh Chandra, General Manager of BEST, said, “The contractor has assured us that they will run all buses as per schedule from Wednesday (today).”
Confirming the development, a BEST official said, “After denial of regular drivers, the contractor arranged over a dozen additional drivers. Besides, for the convenience of Wadala depot passengers, 28 BEST buses were also deployed. After arrangements of additional drivers, around 18 buses were back on the road on Tuesday afternoon.”
"The buses were overcrowded on Tuesday, too. They were operating with lesser frequency,” said Rajan Sharma, a 36-year-old marketing executive.
“I was delayed travelling to my workplace because the long queues forced me to wait for around 25 minutes,” said Sankey Jadhav, a 39-year-old man who works as a security guard in Parel.
Agitating drivers claim that they are not getting their salary on time, and provident fund of some drivers has also not been deposited in the last few months.
But sources said that a group of drivers was angry after a few arrived late for duty last week, following which they were warned and questioned by the authorities. The drivers have refused to speak on the record.
