NEW DELHI: After an electric bus caught fire on the road a few weeks ago, the Delhi Integrated Multi-Modal Transport System (DIMTS) has demanded a safety audit of the electric buses recently added to the Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) fleet.
The agency has instructed the operators supplying and operating these buses to conduct the audit and submit a report.
“These electric buses, introduced on Delhi’s roads last year, were purported to be safe. However, barely a year into operation, concerns about their quality have arisen due to the fire incident. With temperatures rising in Delhi, DIMTS has decided to conduct audits on all buses to ensure passenger safety and bus quality,” said a senior official. “The audit will assess lithium batteries, wiring, and motors installed in the buses across more than 20 parameters,” he added.
The bus operators will submit the audit report to DIMTS officials. Based on this report, decisions will be made regarding operability of these buses and necessary modifications.
DIMTS officials mentioned that the bus manufacturer had initially provided a report confirming compliance with all standards at the time of supply. Consequently, the audit report will be compared with this earlier assessment.
Currently, 1,300 electric buses have joined the DTC fleet, with an additional 1,540 expected soon for Delhi. Of these, around 500 buses will be supplied by the same manufacturer responsible for the bus that caught fire. Hence, the transport department will exercise caution during procurement, closely scrutinizing these buses against established standards.
The electric bus that caught fire in May and was completely destroyed within minutes had only traveled 14,000 kilometers, officials noted. It is suspected that insulators near the motor overheated and caught fire.z