'King Long' buses: BEST's white elephant

This is the BEST's personal nightmare -- high maintenance, slow on inclines and now, a white elephant that can't be gotten rid of. The purple 'King Long' buses were a con played on Mumbaikars who believed them to be Chinese made. In fact, they are Cerita buses manufactured by JCBL in Lalru Mohali, Punjab, and a constant headache to the transport undertaking.

As reported by dna on November 4, the BEST has been making attempts to phase out air-conditioned buses from its fleet. However, it's a tough job, mainly due to high maintenance cost involved for its upkeep. No private firm has shown interest in buying the first batch of 20 Cerita buses, said a BEST official.

It is a well-known fact that the breakdown rate of Cerita buses were the highest. As per a RTI reply, between January 2010 and June 2012 there were 4,037 breakdowns. On the other hand, the breakdowns of ordinary buses had decreased. In July 2010, 30 out of the fleet of 285 buses were inside the depots for repairs.

In fact, in May 2010 the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) removed these buses with immediate effect as there were incidents of buses catching fire. "Eleven buses had been leased from private operators, but on any given day only three would be in operation on Mumbai-Pune route, the rest of them were parked in the garages for repairs," said an MSRTC official.

As days passed, maintaining the buses became more difficult not only for MSRTC but also for BEST because of non-availability of spares from the manufacturer.

On gradients, these buses do not have enough power to climb as a result they slow down on flyovers and on hilly terrain.