Mumbai: Commuters who rely on BEST, mostly office-goers, were left seeking alternate modes of public transport, increasing rush-hour crowds. With the strike being called late on Sunday, many didn’t know buses would be off the roads on Monday.
Archana Kavitke, an Anganwadi helper, said, “I came to know about the bus strike after leaving home for work. I had to spend ₹130 on an autorickshaw to reach Dahisar from Kandivli, from where I took a train to Churchgate. It added to my travel time.”
Her woes were shared by thousands of commuters. Monday was also Raksha Bandhan, and people who wanted to visit siblings before heading to work ended up spending extra time and money on alternative transport. “Due to the increased demand, there was a surge in fares charged by private fleet cabs, and we had to wait for a long time before one was available to travel from Dahisar to Thane. It delayed our plans,” said Sunita Gupte, a senior citizen who wanted to visit her family in Thane for Raksha Bandhan.
As the day progressed, people took to social media to vent their ire about traffic jams brought about by an increase in vehicles on arterial roads like the Eastern and Western Express Highways, the Eastern Freeway and LBS Road. Some Twitter users offered lifts to people travelling in their direction, while some put out regular updates on the traffic situation.
Near the Churchgate station bus stop, a group of commuters waited for buses, unaware of the strike. When they came to know there were no buses, they formed groups of four based on destinations and hailed taxis. “Luckily, many have taken leave for Raksha Bandhan, so the the situation is not as dire as it would have been on a regular working day,” Hemant Sinha, a taxi driver at Churchgate, said.
The Traffic Police deployed additional personnel along arterial roads, especially at spots where work on the Metro Rail project is in progress. Police stepped up presence near bus stops and depots in case commuters turned violent, but no untoward incidents were reported.
