The trusty big red has started rolling on our roads, after considerable suffering by commuters thanks to a strike by employees of private bus operators contracted by the Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport Undertaking (BEST). The strike was called off on Tuesday afternoon after Chief Minister Eknath Shinde assured them that demands would be fulfilled.

The seven-day strike resulted in 551 out of the 1,600 wet-leased buses provided by private operators going off the roads. While commuters are relieved that buses are back on the roads, seeing the hardship  it is important that we do not look for band aid solutions to problems and actually look at a deeper discontent so that this does not recur.