"Maxi cabs will further cut down the passengers, and kill the already struggling MSRTC,” said union leaders, who are up in arms about the state government’s move to legalise the small passenger vans on the ST routes.

The union leaders raised their objections on July 18, when they met with the committee, which the government appointed to regularise maxi cabs in rural Maharashtra. Maxi cabs are in direct competition with the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC), they said.