BENGALURU: At least 25 incidents of BMTC buses breaking down were reported in the city over the past one week. Apart from the delay in procuring new buses, BMTC employees say shortage of spare parts, tyres, qualified mechanical staff and bad condition of roads are reasons for the high number of breakdowns.
H V Ananth Subbarao, General secretary of KSRTC Staff and Workers’ Federation, said nearly 200 of BMTC’s air-conditioned ‘Vajra’ buses are off the roads on any given day because of poor maintenance. “Many ‘Vajra’ buses are gathering dust in depots, including HSR Layout, Subhashnagar, Hebbal and Kathriguppe because of lack of maintenance,” he said.
The financial crunch is causing a delay in procuring spare parts and tyres. “There is also a shortage of mechanical staff at most bus depots,” he added.
A driver of a BMTC Volvo bus said they frequently face problems with electronic components of the bus. “After-sales service from the manufacturer is not adequate and our mechanical staff are not trained to service these type of buses. We have to depend on the manufacturer for spare parts and this will delay bus servicing.”
A retired BMTC official from the mechanical department said the transport utility rarely claims services during the warranty period. “We can’t expect an eight-year-old bus to run efficiently like a new bus.”
A BMTC official said they don’t adequate receive funds from the government to procure new buses or for maintenance of buses.
Experts suggest that BMTC should set up an online system to monitor buses.