Mumbai’s public bus service went off the roads today as hundreds of bus conductors and drivers went on mass casual leave to protest a new scheduling software that they claimed would increase their workload.
Commuters had to contend with the complete absence of the familiar red the Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) buses on Mumbai’s roads and make alternate arrangements.
No buses on Mumbai’s roads today. AFP
A union representing the bus drivers and conductors said that employees had gone on mass casual leave to protest against the implementation of a new scheduling system.
A report said that the new scheduling software from Trapeze, a Canadian firm engaged by BEST to reduce its losses and the utility service claimed that it was expected to save them Rs 32 crore.
“The scheduling and route of a bus is presently fixed manually at each of the 26 depots in the city. With the new software this would be done automatically,” a spokesperson for the union told Firstpost.
The union claims that the new software will increase their duty hours to 12 to 15 hours a day and reduce their rest period, he said.
They also claimed that the new software could allocate routes to bus drivers and conductors that they may not be aware of, the spokesperson said.
A spokesperson for the BEST said that the union had earlier gone to the Bombay High Court and it was referred to an industrial court which had given the go ahead to the new scheduling software.
BEST is still awaiting a copy of the final order, he said
He said that most of the bus conductors and drivers were on leave.
“We will call a meeting with the trade union and will attempt to reach a solution within a couple of hours,” the spokesperson said.
Mumbai residents took to Twitter to share the news and some claimed that it was difficult to get rickshaws and taxis. Here are some tweets:
Mumbai’s BEST conductors, drivers on strike to protest new scheduling software
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