India News | 30 DTC, Cluster Buses Caught Fire in 8 Years: Delhi Govt
Get latest articles and stories on India at LatestLY. Thirty buses caught fire in Delhi in the last eight years, including four this year, according to the city government's data on fire incidents in DTC and cluster buses.
New Delhi, Dec 19 (PTI) Thirty buses caught fire in Delhi in the last eight years, including four this year, according to the city government's data on fire incidents in DTC and cluster buses.
According to a transport department report, short-circuits were the most common reason behind the fire incidents that mostly occurred in buses around 12 years of age.
The Delhi government informed the Assembly about this on Monday.
The data showed four buses caught fire this year, seven last year, two in 2021 and one in 2020.
Six buses were involved in fire incidents in 2019 while the figure stood at one each in 2017 and 2018. Five buses caught fire in 2015 and three in 2016, according to the data.
The transport department has, over the years, constituted different committees to look into the causes of fire. The common reasons have emerged to be short circuit, engine overheating and drivers flagging technical issues but the issues not being addressed.
The committees have also pointed out poor maintenance by the service provider as a reason in some cases.
According to an official, the old buses are being phased out and electric ones are being inducted.
Last week, 500 electric buses were added to the fleet, taking the number of such buses in the national capital to 1,300.
According to the Delhi government's plan, electric buses should account for 80 per cent of the fleet by 2025.
(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)