Yesterday, Mumbai commuters were stranded again thanks to an autorickshaw strike that affected large swathes of the suburbs. In a sight that is tiresomely and frustratingly familiar, commuters who were not in the know were shocked to see autos off the road and contemplating other avenues in which to get to work. Others were resigned to their fate, traipsing along towards bus stops.

Thousands of autorickshaws went off the roads in Mumbai suburbs yesterday to protest the operations of private taxi aggregators and rise in permit fees. State transport commissioner Shyam Wardhane issued welcome directives allowing private cars, buses and other vehicles to operate as public transport yesterday. Though Shashank Rao, leader of the Mumbai Autorickshaw Union insisted that rickshaws had legitimate grounds for grouse, many commuters thought otherwise. Rao warned that the State Govt. is responsible for the inconvenience.