MSRTC orders inquiry into engineering of the air-conditioned bus, fleet continues to stay off road
The air-conditioned King Long bus fleet used by the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) was meant to be a commuter’s delight, but unfortunately it has turned out to be a nightmare. A month after one such bus caught fire while on its way from Pune to Thane, the corporation has now initiated an inquiry, while keeping its King Long fleet off the road.
Mechanical engineers from MSRTC along with experts from the
Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Mumbai, will soon carry out a detailed examination of the bus that caught fire on May 15. Deepak Kapoor, vice-chairman and managing director, MSRTC, told DNA that the inquiry was ordered after the corporation received a series of complaints about the King Long buses.
“We have about 15 King Long buses in our possession and many of them are outsourced. When the mishap occurred on May 15, only four of these 15 buses on the Thane-Pune and Dadar-Pune route were operational. However, passengers have been complaining about the buses, especially about the non-functional air-conditioning and breadowns in the ghats near Lonavala,” said Kapoor.
Since most of the buses were hired by the MSRTC, Kapoor has had a series of meeting with bus operators. “When I warned them about the frequent malfunctioning of the buses, I was told that the bus company had a problem of after-sale service. Obviously, this had nothing to do with the operations,” said Kapoor, adding that there have been three instances of a King Long bus catching fire in Mumbai (all were BEST buses).
And, apart from Mumbai, two King Long buses of the Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) have also been involved in similar mishaps.
However, after the May 15 incident, the chief mechanical engineer of the MSTRC wrote to experts at IIT, asking for their help. “The IIT experts will check the entire set up of the bus. After a preliminary inquiry into the incident, we had found that the engine’s retarder, air-conditioner wiring and some key fittings had to be tested. Once the committee comprising IIT and MSRTC experts submits a report, we will have talks with the King Long company officials,” said Kapoor.
“If they acknowledge the faults and manufacture a new bus with necessary rectifications, we have already asked them to give us a new bus free of cost. We will use it for a month on the same Dadar-Pune route and then decide on bringing the King Long back on road.”
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