Mumbai: Driver negligence and rash driving were responsible for the three latest fatal BEST bus crashes in Mankhurd, Dadar and Andheri, the findings of an internal inquiry by the undertaking has revealed.Speaking to the media after the committee meeting on Tuesday afternoon, BEST general manager Sonia Sethi said preliminary investigations pointed to driver error as the primary cause in all three incidents, which resulted in deaths, injuries and damage to several vehicles.In Monday’s incident, the driver was reportedly speeding and he wanted to go under a flyover and take a sharp turn, but he lost control and ended in a crash. “Our inspection has revealed there was no technical fault with the bus,” Sethi said, while the driver has claimed it was a brake failure.Mankhurd police said preliminary findings, including breathalyser and blood tests, indicate the bus driver was not under the influence of alcohol. A detailed forensic report is expected by Wednesday. Injured bus conductor Vaibhav Waghmare, 41, and driver Banvari Shriram Prasad Sharma, 51, are stable. Police said the RTO inspection report will be crucial in determining whether the crash resulted from human error or a technical fault.At the panel meeting, BEST member, Shiv Sena UBT Nitin Nandgaonkar, said he has received a BEST reply to a query on poor maintenance of buses, which revealed that “868 buses in the undertaking were found having issues with the brake and steering systems at depots over a period of time, of which repairs were carried out in 774 buses before they were found fit to run on roads, and work on 94 others was still in progress.”“With fines of Rs 5,000 per day for a defective bus, and these buses being repaired past 3 months, the administration should disclose the penalty it has levied on contractors,” he demanded, adding that such a huge number of buses being repaired for brake- and steering-related issues was an ‘eye-opener’.BEST panel chairperson Trushna Vishwasrao called for an urgent meeting with wet lease bus operators and indicated that stringent action could follow. This includes the possibility of terminating a contract involving around 150 buses operated by one contractor. She also sought a separate meeting with wet-lease drivers to understand operational and workplace issues that may be contributing to the accidents. Vishwasrao said all wet-lease contracts would be reviewed, alleging that BEST pays contractors for nearly 200 km of daily operation even though actual bus usage is often below 150 km. She also questioned lease rates of up to Rs 80 per kilometre, noting that similar buses are available under central govt schemes at around Rs 60 per kilometre.Nandgaonkar alleged at the meeting that the undertaking had 50%-60% buses in bad condition and with ‘defects’ and needed to be repaired fully before being operated on the road. “You cannot play with the lives of passengers and pedestrians,” he said, referring to the recent bus crashes involving fatalities, passenger injuries and multiple vehicles being damaged due to the crash.While reiterating that buses on the road had no technical issues and were roadworthy, Sethi said there were regular inspections of all buses in the fleet, and that she issued fresh road-safety directives and was reviewing driver training standards. “Our objective is to ensure safety of all passengers and that only buses with zero defects and trained drivers are operated on the roads,” she added. Measures under consideration include mandatory training, restrictions on overtime and efforts to improve salaries and service conditions of contractual drivers with support from the law and judiciary departments.(With inputs by S Ahmed Ali)
