The one-day national strike called for by several trade unions is expected to cripple transport services across the city, as employees of transport utilities Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC), Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) and other autorickshaw unions have voiced their support for the bandh.
BMTC services in the city, including casual contract buses operated for schools and companies, will not ply on Wednesday. Other services are also expected to be affected. The strike is against the proposed Road Transport and Safety Bill 2015, which unions say will take away the primacy of State-run transport utilities and lead to privatisation.
The last time a strike was held on April 30 this year, around 25 buses of the BMTC and 8 buses of KSRTC were damaged in stone-pelting incidents. However, autorickshaws had started plying by evening and bus services were resumed by night.
This time around, officials have been in continuous talks with their employees asking them to show up for work. However, these talks seem to have not had the desired effect and the workers will continue with the strike.
Autorickshaws across the city will also be joining in the strike and will not ply between 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Wednesday. “They want to privatise a lot of processes like getting fitness certificates from companies, fixing routes for buses and provision of licences for autorickshaws. We cannot trust these companies not to look out for their own interests. Tomorrow, all autorickshaw unions associated with us will not ply,” said Rudramurthy, convener of the Autorickshaw Drivers’ Union.
Cabs services however are expected to ply normally. “The Bill is still under review and not implemented to law. Discussions are going on. We will not participate in tomorrow’s strike,” said Radhakrishna Holla, general secretary of the Bangalore Tourist Taxi Owners Association.
Aggregators like Uber and Ola are also expected to function normally. “Uber will function as usual on Wednesday,” a spokesperson confirmed.
