Several students and daily wage earners were left stranded for the second consecutive day as Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) bus drivers continued their strike demanding higher wages and medical benefits.
The drivers, mostly operating new electric buses, said they will continue to protest on Thursday.
Transport Minister Pankaj Singh assured the drivers of resolving their issues and appealed them to call off the strike.
The strike took off from Burari depot on Tuesday morning when drivers refused to run their buses on designated routes and even stopped buses that had already started plying mid-route and asked passengers to deboard. The same continued on Wednesday as well. They said that currently drivers hired by private operators are being paid at ₹862 per day with no medical benefits, no health insurance, no holiday and insurance in case of an emergency.
“The government has not heard our demands despite repeated engagements. If this helps reach out to them, we have to take this step and urge other drivers also to participate,” said Manoj Yadav, a driver from Shadipur depot.
“We demand these basis things to support our livelihoods in a city like Delhi,” said Sandeep Yadav, a driver in Dwarka.
Among those affected included students, elderly, daily wage earners and domestic workers.
“I was going to meet my mother who lives alone. I was told there is a strike of drivers. I will now wait for my son to come back and will go with him on his bike,” said 45-year-old Suman Gupta, who was waiting for a bus at Dwarka Sector 22 depot.
Kunal Rai, a student at ARSD college said he faced difficulty in travelling to college from Palam Colony due to bus service disruption. “The drivers should strike but in a manner that does not make passengers suffer. At least some buses should be made available for emergency travel or for students like us,” he said.
Himanshi Dahiya, another student of the college said that she travels from Naraina and is heavily dependent on buses. “The bus service on that route is anyway decreasing. I have to wait for 30-40 minutes for a bus at times during peak hours. Now strike has disrupted entire schedule. They also did not inform in advance so that passengers could make their own arrangements,” she said.
To ease the crisis, the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) increased metro services, running 20 extra trips using eight additional trains across various routes. The increased metro frequencies will continue on Thursday from 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. to manage the surge, the DMRC stated.
Published – September 17, 2026 12:37 am IST
