Unions to petition BEST demanding 3,337 undertaking-owned buses in fleet

MUMBAI: Various unions, big and small, of BEST undertaking have come together to take up the issue of BEST owned buses dropping to one third of its original fleet a few years back, and this has affected the operations majorly, union leaders said on Monday.
There is not only a shortage of buses, but a lack of well trained drivers to run the existing fleet.The contractual buses, which form two-third of the fleet, are run by private and "mostly less experienced" drivers hired by contractors, they alleged.
The group of unions, which met at Dadar for a day recently, will petition BEST management this week as they feel “cheated” regarding a MoU which was signed a few years back to maintain a minimum 3,337 BEST owned buses in the fleet.
While workers threaten protest, they also seek to approach politicians, especially candidates standing for Lok Sabha elections in Mumbai constituencies, to take up their cause at rallies starting soon.