Best Strike Enters Day 2 Bus Services Grind To A Halt Across Mumbai

Bus services across the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) remained severely disrupted on Saturday as the indefinite strike by employees of the Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) Undertaking entered its second day, with only a handful of buses operating against the undertaking’s scheduled fleet.

According to BEST officials, only four wet-lease buses were plying on city roads on Saturday morning against the scheduled deployment of 2,767 buses. Although around 246 BEST-owned buses had been rostered for service, none could leave the depots as striking employees refused to perform their duties. The poor turnout came despite 192 BEST personnel—including inspectors, starters, drivers and conductors and 8 wet-lease bus drivers reporting for duty. The absence of operational staff at depots continued despite depot managers persuading striking workers to return to their posts.

The strike, led by the BEST Sanyukt Kamgar Kruti Samiti, a joint action committee of 12 unions, began at midnight on Thursday after negotiations with the administration failed to resolve a series of labour and infrastructure-related demands. Among the key issues raised by workers are the merger of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s (BMC) ‘C’ budget allocated to BEST with its main ‘A’ budget, payment of pending legal dues to retired employees in a lump sum, reduction in the undertaking’s dependence on contractual operators, and the absorption of wet-lease employees into the permanent workforce.

The agitation continued to affect commuters across the MMR, forcing many to depend on auto-rickshaws, taxis and app-based cab services for last-mile connectivity. At several bus stops in south Mumbai, passengers unaware of the strike were left waiting for extended periods before learning that services had been suspended.

Outside Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT), many commuters waited for 20 to 30 minutes before making alternate travel arrangements. Among them was Navi Mumbai resident Ruksana, who had travelled to south Mumbai with her four-year-old daughter, Ayesha. “I had come to explore the iconic South Mumbai area with my daughter, but had no idea that bus services had been suspended in the city,” she said after waiting nearly 20 minutes at a bus stop before being informed of the strike by a passerby.

The disruption was particularly visible during the morning peak hours, when long queues formed for shared auto-rickshaws and taxis at several locations. The increased reliance on alternate modes of travel also resulted in a surge in ridership on Mumbai’s Metro network, which recorded more than one lakh additional passengers compared to a typical Friday.

The strike has continued despite a meeting between union representatives and State Transport Minister Pratap Sarnaik, Additional Chief Secretary (Urban Development) Aseem Gupta, and senior BEST officials, including General Manager Sonia Sethi. The discussions primarily focused on the unions’ demand to merge the BMC’s ‘C’ and ‘A’ budgets.

Appealing to workers to withdraw the agitation, Sarnaik said BEST remained a critical public transport service for Mumbai. “BEST remains the lifeline of Mumbai with over 30 lakh passengers relying on the service daily. A strike by the organisation’s 48,000 workers could cause immense hardship to students, office-goers, senior citizens and other commuters,” he said.

However, union leaders said assurances from the government were insufficient. “The agitation continues as no concrete decision has been taken by the administration,” said Uday Ambonkar, general secretary of the BEST Karmachari Sena.

While bus operations remained crippled, BEST officials maintained that electricity supply across its distribution network continued without disruption. BEST currently operates 2,766 buses on 399 routes, including feeder and select long-distance services, carrying nearly 25 lakh passengers daily. The undertaking also supplies electricity to around 11 lakh consumers in south and central Mumbai.