Safare is no stranger to long hauls, but this one, he says, has been particularly taxing. The commute from Virar to Colaba would take 1.5 hours by train. He is now on the road for 3.5 hours. "I leave home after having a quick cup of tea. I can't carry a bite to grab on the bus due to hygiene measures that are in place." His first meal of the day is at noon, and the next, dinner when he gets home.

En route to office, the traffic extends from the highway right up till Bandra. Although he has a couple of games loaded on his smartphone to kill time, he spends those hours getting some shut eye. "I nod off because it's exhausting being on the road for seven hours, day after day," he says.

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Expenses have also shot up. A one-way bus ticket costs him R125. Spending R250 per day on transport is burning a hole in his pocket, he admits. Safare is the only earning member in a family of four and has been working at the current organisation for 30 years. With people around him losing jobs due the pandemic, Safare says he grapples with uncertainty. "The other day, although it was pouring incessantly, I walked to the bus stop to see if I could make it to work. I was told that the services have been cancelled. Life is getting increasingly difficult. I hope the government realises what some of us are going through."

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