13 December,2024 07:55 PM IST | Mumbai | Aishwarya Iyer
UMC officials inspect a bus on Friday. Pic/Navneet Barhate
Following the Kurla BEST (Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport) bus crash, the Ulhasnagar Municipal Corporation (UMC) has started inspecting its bus drivers, focusing on their performance and health to ensure safety and prevent future mishaps.
According to Vinod Keni, the head of the transport department at UMC, driver inspections will now be mandatory following the Kurla BEST bus crash incident, which has raised serious concerns over passenger safety on buses. "Drivers will be permitted to operate buses only after a thorough examination of their fitness and training," said Keni.
The driver of a BEST bus lost control and rammed the vehicle into several vehicles and pedestrians in a crowded locality in Kurla (West) on Monday night, leaving seven people dead and several others injured.
UMC stated that all the staff, including drivers, currently undergo a month-long training programme and the physical and mental fitness of the drivers are regularly assessed. "We have not had a single serious bus accident in the past nine months, which is a result of the safety measures we have implemented and will continue to uphold," said Keni.
Recently, UMC had introduced 20 state-of-the-art electric buses under the Central Government's National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) scheme. The fleet comprises 10 air-conditioned (AC) and non-AC buses each that ferry thousands of passengers across the city. The staff includes contractual employees, including 50 drivers and conductors each as well as additional personnel for technical maintenance.
Currently, the AC buses operate on the Kalyan, Ambernath, and Badlapur routes, while the non-AC buses run within UMC limits, with both covering at least 160 km every day, according to civic body officials. They also revealed that the Central Government has approved more than 100 new buses for Ulhasnagar to enhance intra-city services.
