The BEST strike continued on the third consecutive day on Thursday with protesting contract staff not plying 192 buses. To fill the gap, BEST operated 81 buses for the convenience of commuters. Sources said buses were not turned out at Wadala, Vikhroli, Bandra and Kurla bus depot in the eastern suburbs.

“On Thursday in all 192 buses that operated on wet-lease basis were off the road and not on  their scheduled trips due to the strike. We ran 81 buses from our fleet,” said Manoj Varade, a BEST spokesperson. According to BEST authorities the concerned wet lease operator has 275 buses and the 192 buses were from his fleet.