BEST buses may go off the roads from January 8. The BEST Workers' Union has threatened an indefinite bus strike from January 8 to force the government into addressing their various demands, including the merger of BEST and BMC budgets, and sought the opinion of its employees for the go-ahead to the proposed strike.

Union leader Shashank Rao told mid-day that the BEST committee and BMC bodies have cleared the proposal to merge the two budgets, but the administration needs to act and move it further to the Maharashtra government's urban development department for approval.