PUNE: Commuters struggling to get a seat on a bus because of the ongoing strike by MSRTC employees have some sort of lifeline in sight.Nearly 700 private and 100 school buses have been pressed into service following the orders of district collector Saurabh Rao as the strike entered the third day on Thursday.While the district administration sought more than 600 buses, private transport bodies struggled because of the absence of drivers on account of Diwali.Regional transport officer B I Ajri said following directions issued by the district collector, many private vehicles and school buses became operational from Pune station, Swargate, Shivajinagar, Nigdi and Vallabhnagar bus depots.“Nearly 800 private buses have become operational and the number will increase on Sunday as people return return to work after holidays,” he said.Following instructions from the chief secretary, Rao requisitioned 635 vehicles and announced the number will be increased to 1,000 during the strike perdiod.The CEO of Purple group, Rohit Pardeshi, told TOI that vehicles owned by the company have been running more trips to help commuters from last two days. “We have provided RTO with 40 drivers to clear the depot and park the buses on the ground of College of Engineering , Pune. This has allowed private buses in the depot,” Pardeshi claimed.He added that many buses in Shivajinagar bus stand were lying idle with deflated tyres and drivers had to re-arrange the vehicles to make space for the private ones. According to Pardeshi, there was demand from commuters to be ferried to Kolhapur, Sangli, Satara, Ahmednagar, Aurangabad, Nagpur and Solapur on Thursday evening.The head of the Pune bus association, Rajan Junawane, said there was a shortage of drivers due to Diwali and the issue would be resolved on Friday. “We have nearly 250-300 vehicles running in western Maharashtra. We have received a request for 350 buses in Marathwada. Since travellers have to buy tickets at the depot, systems there will be streamlined by Friday,” Junawane said.Commuters, however, preferred private operators for now. “I booked with a private operator due to the strike. The rates were regular,’’ said Subrato Ghosh, a frequent traveller to Mumbai.