Operators associated with the Mumbai Bus Malak Sanghatana, the largest association of bus owners in MMR, are taking their buses off the road, claiming harassment by traffic police.
If you are planning to go to Pune or Goa next week, do not expect to ride in an air-conditioned or semi luxury bus. Bus owners running 33,000 private buses across the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) will be on strike, along with school and company bus operators, from September 18 midnight till September 20.
Operators associated with the Mumbai Bus Malak Sanghatana, the largest association of bus owners in MMR, are taking their buses off the road, claiming harassment by traffic police.
They claim that over the past two days, the police has been clamping down on buses running on city roads.
"There are barely 100 buses that run on Mumbai roads during peak hours. How can the Traffic Police claim that we are the reason behind traffic jams?" said Malik Patel, president, Mumbai Bus Malak Sanghatana.
The bus body claims that the Mumbai Traffic Police has issued an order to bar private buses from plying between 7am to midnight in south Mumbai; and from 8am to 11am and 7pm to 11pm in the suburbs. This is being done to ease traffic snarls caused by heavy vehicles.
Around 18,000 private buses operate in Mumbai, which not only ply inter-city and inter-state, but also ferry people to workplaces. Sources in the Sanghatana said that the traffic police want them to park school buses beyond Mumbai limits even though they ferry children in south Mumbai.
According to the private bus operators, their buses with passengers inside, have been stopped by the Traffic Police during the last couple of days. The bus association claims that nearly 200 buses have been detained and made to park at Wadala, Dockyard Road, Santacruz or on the highways; of which around 150 are used by families for picnics and by companies to ferry their employees every day.
Krishna Nayak, owner of Raghvendra Travels, claimed, "At around 7 pm today, a 49-seater bus was made to stop near Vile Parle on the Western Express Highway. It was hired by students of N M College for Panvel. The children were asked to alight and go on their own. The bus is now with the Traffic Police."
Traffic authorities are issuing challans and asking drivers to pay anywhere between Rs 1,200 to Rs 3,000 as fine, the association claims. Each bus carries around 40 passengers, which is a good form of vehicle pooling as it replaces 30 cars, the association argues.
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