[TusharK]

The Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) workers' strike has entered the third day after talks between the management and the union failed.



Over 2000 workers went on strike earlier this week demanding higher salaries and merger of the budget of the loss-making entity with that of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC). As a result over 3,200 buses at 27 depots across Mumbai have been grounded.

An industrial court has declared the strike as illegal. The management has warned the agitating workers of stringent action. It could impose the Maharashtra Essential Services Maintenance Act (MESMA) on 300 staffers and would issue show cause notices to 2,000 employees to vacate staff quarters, if they don't resume work.

BEST is the second largest mode of transport in Mumbai after local trains. With BEST buses off the streets, the Central Railway and Western Railway have decided to operate additional suburban trains.

Source: Times of India

Link to Team-BHP News

[ghodlur]

Its sad that BEST employees have to resort to strike every year almost to get their voice heard for a hike in the salaries. One should tell the politicians or the babus to try stepping in the shoes of a BEST employee to understand their plight. Years and years together of political interference have reduced the BEST to give way to private bus operators. Mis manangement of funds made them choose some of the worst buses i.e KingLong's. I feel sorry for them.

On the other hand I even loathe the BEST drivers & conductors for their rash attitudes on the roads. A Bus free day is a treat for any petrolhead to drive within the city.

[Aditya]

No buses on the road means means a lot of inconvenience to the general public. Many people use BEST buses to get from the railway station to their homes or offices. Without them, a lot of people have had to turn to taxis and share taxis. Others have got their cars and bikes on the road. With so many additional private vehicles on the road, the traffic has gone for a toss. All that digging for the metro had already choked up the city.

BEST's bus service used to be great. I used it a lot during my studying and early working years. Never had a problem with connectivity or frequency. Of late, thing have gone downhill though. Wonder how interested the government is in keeping the service going.

[porsche_guy]

In my humble opinion, the BEST service should be privatized with the government having a good amount of stake. This will enable the private operators to improve the facilities, modernise the buses and get profits while the government can still ensure that they don't go too overboard with the prices so as to still ensure cheap transportation. I seriously hope that this doesn't go the Air India way with massive piles of debt and no buyer especially as it is one of the iconic attractions of Mumbai

[binaiks]

Originally Posted by porsche_guy

In my humble opinion, the BEST service should be privatized with the government having a good amount of stake. This will enable the private operators to improve the facilities, modernise the buses and get profits while the government can still ensure that they don't go too overboard with the prices so as to still ensure cheap transportation. I seriously hope that this doesn't go the Air India way with massive piles of debt and no buyer especially as it is one of the iconic attractions of Mumbai

"Cheap transportation" and "Get profits" does not go together in city transportation. City bus operation is best left to the state government, who should operate them as a social initiative, rather than a profit centre.

[PPS]

Originally Posted by ghodlur

A Bus free day is a treat for any petrolhead to drive within the city.

Is it? I have noticed more traffic on the roads than usual after the BEST strike! Getting a rickshaw outside the station is an ordeal which i cannot explain. So i patiently wait in queue for about 15-20mins everyday & then the bus journey takes about 45mins. I travel by BEST bus everyday, so this strike has affected me a lot.
There hasn't been a big hue & cry over the BEST strike because most commuters have moved onto other modes of transport.

[sunilch]

Originally Posted by porsche_guy

In my humble opinion, the BEST service should be privatized with the government having a good amount of stake. This will enable the private operators to improve the facilities, modernise the buses and get profits while the government can still ensure that they don't go too overboard with the prices so as to still ensure cheap transportation. I seriously hope that this doesn't go the Air India way with massive piles of debt and no buyer especially as it is one of the iconic attractions of Mumbai

City public transport is meant for all - the rich, the marginal and the poor. It is like education - kind of a modern day basic right of a citizen. Hence it is BEST served with no-profit and no-loss motive. The rich and the upper middle class can go and use private vehicles or private transport services. 'Profit' motive in such a service will penalize the poor for whom even an increase of 200 in their monthly budget matters, for example.

[blackwasp]

Took me 2.5 hrs from my home in Navi Mumbai to Dadar. That too in car. Usually the bus takes 1 hr max.

The BEST strike has caused super inconvenience to not just bus commuters but also those going in private vehicles / cabs. Combined with the dug up roads (even in Navi Mumbai) and the Metro construction in Mumbai, it is a nightmare to drive a car at any time of the day.

[porsche_guy]

Originally Posted by binaiks

"Cheap transportation" and "Get profits" does not go together in city transportation. City bus operation is best left to the state government, who should operate them as a social initiative, rather than a profit centre.

Originally Posted by sunilch

City public transport is meant for all - the rich, the marginal and the poor. It is like education - kind of a modern day basic right of a citizen. Hence it is BEST served with no-profit and no-loss motive. The rich and the upper middle class can go and use private vehicles or private transport services. 'Profit' motive in such a service will penalize the poor for whom even an increase of 200 in their monthly budget matters, for example.

In all good spirit, with proper planning, why can't public transport be profitable? If Delhi metro can do it, heck even the Indian Railways have done this earlier, then why can't the BEST service? The BEST also has the advantage in the form of its iconic status which not the Metro nor the Railways has.

Cheers!

[Chetan_Rao]

Originally Posted by porsche_guy

In all good spirit, with proper planning, why can't public transport be profitable?

It can be profitable, sure, but unlikely due to a bunch of factors.

If a public service is privatized and run on a profit-motive, the first thing an operator will shut down is low occupancy - i.e. loss-making - routes, cutting off transportation to a bunch of people who probably can't afford another mode, or even the bus service at actual cost (rationalized on route/occupancy factors).

Keyword: motive. A public service that the lowest strata of a society depend on cannot be run with a profit motive, but it can surely be optimized so it turns a profit if/when possible. Service availability critical, profit incidental.

[ninjatalli]

Originally Posted by porsche_guy

In my humble opinion, the BEST service should be privatized with the government having a good amount of stake. This will enable the private operators to improve the facilities, modernise the buses and get profits while the government can still ensure that they don't go too overboard with the prices so as to still ensure cheap transportation.

Originally Posted by porsche_guy

In all good spirit, with proper planning, why can't public transport be profitable?

Public transport always has a bigger purpose to play, not just mere transportation. Pick any major metro city across the world, (one of) the public transport will always serve as the backbone of the city's growth and movement; be it the MTA of NY, or the tube of London and so on. Most of these aren't really doing well either and are generally subsidized by the government. Shut down any portion of them for a short duration, and you have a huge problem at hand (for e.g. currently the L line at NY is closed for repairs causing big issues).

It need not be the railways; unlike Mumbai, the EMU service at Chennai fares much poorly; however the bus service is extensive and used heavily. So cost of transportation will always be a more key factor vis-a-vis the profitability. Public transportation across the world have found avenues of making money though, but through a mix of alternate means including monetizing the land they own and of course advertising.

But in the bigger picture, it's the city that makes the "profit" and a good (albeit subsidized if required) public transport system is just one of the vital keys for it.

[RM Motorsports]

BEST workers’ union calls off strike, agrees to ’10-step increment’.

https://indianexpress.com/article/ci...ement-5540886/