MSRTC rests all King Long buses, will BEST follow?

Though the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) has decided to rest all the 15 China-made King Long buses in its fleet after the mishap on Saturday in which a Swargate-Thane AC bus caught fire, its city counterpart, Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport undertaking (BEST), appears unfazed despite facing two similar accidents in two years.

BEST runs 254 King Long buses on different routes in the city, exposing many of its commuters to a fire hazard.

MSRTC has a fleet of 88 air conditioned buses, and though most of them are of German make (Volvo), as many as 15 King Long buses were also in service, mainly plying on one of the busiest routes — between Mumbai and Pune. However, after the mishap on Saturday, the corporation’s vice chairman and managing director, Deepak Kapoor, decided to withdraw all of them, pending an enquiry.

According to MSRTC officials, the buses will be kept off the roads till an enquiry report on the mishap is submitted by Monday. “We have asked for 10 more buses for routes being plied by King Long buses,” said an official. Preliminary reports suggest the fire was caused by a short-circuit.

However, the BEST administration, in spite of two accidents — one on April 11, 2008, at Cadbury Junction, Thane, and the second one near Huma Ad labs on LBS Road, when BEST bus no. 261 from Borivli to Mulund caught fire — the undertaking’s faith in King Long buses appears strong as ever.

BEST chairman Sanjay Potnis and BEST general manager Uttam Khobragade were unavailable for comment.