MSRTC says no to aluminium, yes to buses made of steel

The MSRTC bus involved in the accident on November 26

Two accidents in the span of just 15 days, have raised alarm bells within the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC), one of India's biggest public transport corporations, with a fleet of 18,000 buses.

The bus involved in the other accident on December 10

As they begin to scrap old buses, the corporation has now expedited the decision to buy all new buses made of mild steel instead of the existing aluminium. Sources said that converting to steel is a big step in passenger safety, and it would provide them better protection in case of accidents and collisions.

Process sped up

A senior official said the decision to use buses with mild-steel bodies had been originally taken in 2006 but the entire process slowed down and now has been sped up for public safety. The MSRTC has a bus building workshop at Pune.

"Aluminium crumbles and hurts passengers in case of collisions and this was noticed in the past two accidents. Mild steel is bit stronger and will not disintegrate and its pieces will not fly and hurt commuters in case of collisions. That is why we are making this technical shift," a senior official said.

In the past 15 days, two MSRTC buses have met with collisions at different locations along the highway. In both the cases, the buses had been severely damaged, injuring passengers. The MSRTC will now identify old buses and send them for scrap, replacing them with new buses made of mild steel.

In the first instance on November 26, an MSRTC bus on the way from Kaledhon village in Satara to Mumbai was hit by a speeding trailer near Panvel, leading to the death of one passenger and injuring 15 others. In the second incident on December 10, a speeding MSRTC bus in service of essential duty staff plying between Uran district and JJ Hospital, Mumbai, dashed into a cement mixer near Vashi bridge injuring six passengers.

Bus expert Rohit Dhende of Bus for Us Foundation said, "There will be a huge difference between the existing aluminium bus bodies and the proposed mild steel bodies. The MSRTC should have made the changes much earlier, but better late than never. Besides being safe, I am sure passengers will also like mild steel for its excellent finish and overall improvement and shine in the ambience of bus interiors. It will include features like frame-less windows, big windscreens, more brightness, which will raise the standard of buses."

18,000
No. of buses in MSRTC fleet

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