Angry over the decision of allowing the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) buses to start inter-district operations on Thursday, private bus operators have now threatened to stop movement of the essential services buses entering and leaving the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) on September 2 to launch a protest against the move. Till 2 pm on Thursday, 721 MSRTC buses had completed 800 inter-district trips.

Asking why the state government refuses to allow private bus owners to start operations, a bus operator said, "What is this obsession with state government buses? We have been approaching them for a very long time but they still haven't considered our appeals. Government has allowed MSRTC to start operations as it is facing losses and difficulties in paying salaries."