Need for more space for waiting BEST staffers at depots

Closely packed BEST staff seen at a depot. Pic/Rajendra B. Aklekar

This edit space has often concentrated on Mumbai's iconic big, red bus. We have highlighted how the old reliable, gasping for breath a few years earlier needed to be saved and revived. Readers pitched in with angst at the prospect of the city's symbol being wiped off the roads thanks to dipping crowds and financial woes.

This space has spoken about how it is the bus that is transformed into the lifeline of Mumbai during the monsoon. The edit has waxed eloquent about buses becoming numero uno intra city commute option during lockdown last year, before local trains started. Now, with restrictions in place once again, the BEST bus is back in focus in the pandemic. The vehicle has provided citizens with stellar service throughout.

According to new government stipulations, there are no standees allowed on buses. This means there is an increase in the number of buses plying and subsequently waiting at the depots too.

A report revealed how staffers are being crowded into a common room at the depot, and with a small space and so many drivers and conductors, social distancing has become difficult. The staffers have increased as the fleet strength has gone up. The depot must open up more rooms or rest areas for its staff so that they can maintain distance while on breaks or waiting for their duty on the next bus.

Employees are duty bound to ensure that their workers operate in as safe and hygienic an environment as possible. If there are no more rooms at the depot, a little makeshift roof or tent adjacent to the brick ‘n' mortar depot structure may work as additional room for staff who may want to sit and relax before their next driving duty. Give them room and ensure distance, you are the BEST for the city. Become the same for your workers too.