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Maintenance needed: Tatas

Staff Reporter

— PHOTO: PTI

A low-floor DTC bus catches fire at Vivek Vihar in Delhi on Thursday.

NEW DELHI: An increased number of checks and strengthened maintenance system are required for the Tata Motors Ltd. (TML) supplied low-floor Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) buses, TML commercial vehicle business unit president Ravi Pisharody said here on Thursday.

Addressing a press conference in the wake of an increasing number of mishaps involving the buses on the Capital’s roads, Mr. Pisharody said: “The maintenance of the buses was inadequate. The buses have been plying for about two years and have run over 1,00,000 km. Therefore they need increased maintenance.”

“There is no inherent manufacturing or designing issue,” he added.

Listing the measures that TML was taking for increased maintenance, Mr. Pisharody said: “Procedures for maintenance are being strengthened. Particular checks which were carried out daily, weekly, and quarterly or after the buses completed a certain distance would be carried out more frequently. The maintenance schedule will also be decided on the basis of actual operating conditions of the buses and the overall experience of two years. More manpower will be deployed at bus depots and the number of TML engineers will be increased as well.”

“An individual and thorough health check of over 900 buses including the CNG systems, electrical and mechanical systems will be completed by January end next year. The checks have already begun,” he added.

Asked about the penalty that the Delhi Government had reportedly imposed on TML, Mr. Pisharody refused to clarify on the grounds that “these are commercial considerations between the Delhi Government and the TML”. He also denied that TML had attributed the various incidents to the condition of the Capital’s roads.

TML regional manager Sandeep Kumar said there were eight incidents between November 30 and December 21 in which problems had occurred in low-floor buses. Recounting the December 3 incident in which a bus had caught fire, Mr. Kumar said: “The brake shoe was dragging against the brake drum causing the wheel to overheat and catch fire.”

“Of the other seven incidents none resulted in fire though there was steam or smoke. One was due to the engine coolant leaking, one each occurred due to steering oil leakage and faulty battery cable, three were related to rear wheel brake systems and in one there was no fault. The seven buses were checked, reported faults were rectified and the buses resumed normal duty within three-five hours of the incident.”

According to Mr. Kumar, a number of safety mechanisms have been installed in the buses including CNG censors to detect leakage. There are six emergency exits and fire extinguishers.

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