When working class sees red, it's not the BEST way forward

Time of India

12-06-2025

Mumbai: Mangala Bawskar catches eight buses a day on her commute to and from work. "I work in three houses," says the 47-year-old domestic worker who lives in Seven Bungalows, Andheri.
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"At 6am I catch the number 249 or 251 to Four Bungalows. I then board the number 266 or 79 for Lokhandwala Circle, from where I walk to my first job at Shastri Nagar. I walk to my second job at Lokhandwala Market at 8.30am, and at 11.30am, catch the number 79 or 266 to 4 Bungalows for my third job. And finally, the number 221 or 56 back home. I return to Lokhandwala Market for the evening shift in one house, catching two buses to and from there.
By the time I return home at 10.30-10.45pm, I am 'energy down'. Had the number 234 been regular, it would have saved me two bus trips to Lokhandwala. But it often takes an hour to arrive."
Bawskar is one of hundreds of women domestic workers in Mumbai who've been dealt a blow by BEST's reduced fleet, fare hike and route closures. Domestic workers are the second largest urban informal workforce in India after home-based workers, and female workers account for 66.6% of the segment, according to the National Sample Survey 2011-12.
In a recently released situational analysis of domestic workers across 15 districts in Maharashtra, conducted by the nonprofit YUVA and the Maharashtra Rajya Gharelu Kamgar Samanvay Samiti (MRGKSS), approximately 84% worked within a 5km radius of their homes. Over 70% said they walked to work, while 11.3% took public buses.
For domestic workers in Mumbai, the ride has been far from smooth. "My employers don't understand the trouble I go through to get to work," says Bawskar, "They complain when I'm late, but don't realise that the buses are irregular, and when they arrive, they are so crowded, one can barely breathe."
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The YUVA-MRGKSS survey found that 83% of domestic workers were engaged in part-time employment across multiple households. For some, like 50-year-old Vimla Vinod Maru, this involves a multi-modal commute by foot, bus, and train, as she travels from Arthur Road to Nepean Sea Road, Grant Road and Agripada. "I take three buses a day. Previously, the number 77 took me directly to J M Mehta Rd, but that bus no longer comes my way, which is why I now take two buses," says Maru.
Monsoons make travel more difficult, when buses are further delayed. "After a point, I'm forced to take a taxi, which costs Rs 130-140 from Arthur Road to Nepean Sea Road," she says.
Travel costs have increased, but wages haven't. When Maya Rajguru from Worli requested one of her employers to increase her monthly wage of Rs 6,000, to factor the increased cost of the commute, she was told they would consider it in October after she completed two years of work.
Easy and affordable access to transport is a key factor in women's participation in the workforce and a crucial contributor to their economic independence.
Over 38% of domestic workers spent 5-15% of their income on travel, said the survey. It also found that the average monthly income of a domestic worker was a little less than Rs 9,000. Moreover, 40% were the sole earners in their families.
The additional outlay in increased bus fare and unplanned auto travel puts a strain on their finances.
Bawskar, who lives alone, says she runs out of money by the third week of the month. "I walk to Four Bungalows to save part of the bus fare," she says.
At the Holy Family Hospital bus stop on Hill Road, Sajida Shaikh glumly watches two domestic workers hail a shared autorickshaw to Bandra station and then glances up to see if the number 215 to Tata Colony is in sight. "I can't take a shared auto," she says, "Because I live in Bandra East, and taking the rickshaw would involve crossing the station from West to East, and then taking a shared auto home, because there are no buses nearby.
It's too exhausting after a long day's work." Shaikh sometimes waits an hour for the number 215, but she has no choice, because it's the only direct route home.
"The BEST should add more buses on busy routes," Bawskar insists, "And they should revert to the original minimum fare of Rs 5. The govt's Ladki Bahin Yojana hasn't benefited every woman, but at least the BEST did."