The special services of the civic-run transport system, whose employees have been on strike since Friday, have been planned for students appearing at 63 examination centres in Mumbai, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) said in a release.

BEST has deployed 60 buses on 24 routes to facilitate their travel to exam centres across the city, officials said.

Nearly 180 bus trips will be operated during the day to ensure smooth transportation of students. Direct bus connectivity has been provided from key locations, including Kurla, Dadar, Malad and Mulund, to various examination centres, the release said.

On Saturday, BEST sought more than 100 buses from the state-owned Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC), including 60 for operating special services for NEET candidates amid the ongoing strike by BEST employees.

To facilitate students appearing for the NEET, BEST has planned special buses across Mumbai between 9 am and 1 pm and from 5 pm to 7 pm. It also appealed to students to avail the special bus services and reach their examination centres safely and on time.

However, route details of the special services were not made public before 10 am through either social media platforms or official communication to the media, making it difficult for students to plan their journeys in advance. The route-wise information was released later in the morning, after the issue was brought to the notice of the authorities.

The strike, called by the BEST Sanyukt Kamgar Kruti Samiti, has virtually paralysed the civic-run bus transport system since Friday, forcing passengers to depend on local trains, Metro services, taxis and autorickshaws for their daily commute.