Thousands suffer as Metro feeder buses go on strike

NEW DELHI - Thousands of commuters faced a tough time Monday as scores of Delhi Metro’s feeder buses, which help passengers reach designated Metro stations, went on a two-day strike.

According to Delhi Metro officials, drivers of over 60 buses of the 120 feeder buses went on strike without any prior notice to the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC).

“Feeder buses run on 14 routes across the city. After the strike, at least eight routes were affected badly. The situation may not improve tomorrow (Tuesday) as the drivers will not return to work on Tuesday, a DMRC official told IANS.

Every day, around 850,000 people commute via Delhi Metro. Here, feeder buses play a major role in ferrying people to Metro stations. Commuters in places like Shastri Park, Welcome Colony, other trans-Yamuna areas, Janakpuri East and West, Dwarka and Kirti Nagar suffered the most.

DMRC officials said the drivers of feeder buses went on strike demanding better wages and a bonus. They also demanded that the feeder bus fares must be increased to make the business viable. The feeder services are run by private organisations.

Currently, the bus fares have two slabs - Rs.5 and Rs.8. The operators want this hiked to Rs.7 and Rs.10.