Private bus operators in Mumbai are threatening to call for a city-wide strike on September 2 as a protest against the State Government allegedly making operations easier only for MSRTC (Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation) buses. Malik Patel of the Mumbai Bus Malak Sanghatana said that the government should remove the requirement of e-passes and COVID certificate norms for private bus operators too.
“We have followed all Covid rules laid down by government strictly for past five months and have been incurring losses. But this is not fair. We cannot be given step motherly treatment and should come under same rules as those applied to MSRTC,” Patel said.
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“We have been repeatedly demanding one year waiver on taxes for all operators as they are unable to pay the hefty tax for the buses. We also want government to increase the insurance validity period by number of days of lockdown,” he added.
If the strike goes through on September 2, it could potentially see the halting of 38,000 tourist buses and 4,500 buses that run for corporate employees in Mumbai alone, thus impacting the livelihood of many.
Another member of the bus owners’ association said that private bus operators who had taken out loans should have the interest waived off.
With the coronavirus pandemic halting almost every public movement across Mumbai and Maharashtra, private bus operators have seen a massive dip in revenues over the past few months. The owners are now asking the State to provide similar benefits as the buses that are operated by the MSRTC.
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