The Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) has said that it has decided to take 400 leased buses off roads after another incident of CNG-bus catching fire took place in the city.
The latest incident of leased buses catching fire takes the toll to three in a month.
The decision to take off roads 400 leased buses will certainly add trouble to the public transport system but more important than this is the commuters safety.
“Though it may cause inconvenience to commuters, public safety is of utmost importance to BEST and we can not compromise on that. There may be some changes in the schedules due to this,” BEST General Manager Lokesh Chandra said.
“BEST administration and particularly the engineering department has no control over the maintenance of leased buses as they have not recruited trained staff for the last 10 years and no promotions and incentives given to the existing staff. As a result there is lethargy,” Sunil Ganacharya, former BEST committee member said, adding that the public transport body should also reconsider its policy on hiring private buses.
The transport body has said that it has decided to discontinue 400 leased buses service temporarily till the operator take necessary corrective measures to ensure that such incidents do not happen in future.
(With inputs from PTI)
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