BENGALURU: The government-run BMTC and KSRTC buses may carry the tag of killer vehicles for their notorious record in causing accidents. But, if one goes by the statistics available with the traffic police, accidents involving BMTC and KSRTC buses in the city have dipped since 2013.
Statistics show that fatalities caused by BMTC buses have reduced from 66 in 2013 to 52 in 2015. The fatalities involving KSRTC buses in the city marginally declined from 18 in 2013 to 17 in 2015. Between January and June this year, BMTC and KSRTC claimed 27 and 10 lives, respectively.
The number of people injured in the city in accidents involving BMTC buses has reduced from 219 in 2013 to 164 in 2015. KSRTC reduced the non-fatal cases by half — from 57 in 2013 to 26 in 2015.
KSRTC and BMTC officials said accidents involving their buses have reduced owing to their refresher courses and training programmes.
“We have initiated several measures to prevent accidents. We have conducted health camps for drivers and held several awareness and de-addiction sessions for the staff. We want the accident rate to drop further,” said a BMTC official.
Many BMTC drivers complain they are facing problems due to reckless two-wheeler riders zig-zagging around the buses, narrow roads and traffic congestion.
“There are several instances where drivers were held responsible for the mistakes of other motorists, especially two-wheeler riders. The maintenance of most buses is poor. There are over 1,000 aged buses that need to be replaced, but still most bus drivers continue to drive safely despite several issues,” said a BMTC driver.
Many motorists say they are being terrorised by BMTC drivers. “It’s scary to drive on the roads, especially when a BMTC bus is around. Many drivers stop buses just behind our vehicle without even as much as a gap. Some drivers unnecessarily honk and stop in the middle of the road,” said K Manjunath, a regular commuter.
Traffic police officials said they are taking stringent action against errant bus drivers.
BMTC officials said the traffic fines are recovered from the salaries of these drivers.