Are MSRTC buses not safe anymore?

The journey through buses of Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) has always been considered safe. However, it has now come to light that the administration is not paying attention to maintain these buses. It has come to light that first aid boxes in some of these buses were found to be empty. It was also found that in some buses, the first aid boxes were missing.

Moreover, many ordinary category buses are being operated with an outdated fire extinguisher while some are running without it.

This was found in a survey carried out of some buses at Central Bus Stand (CBS) on Monday afternoon, February 22.

In the survey, it was found that there were fire extinguishers in Shivneri and Shivshahi buses. In contrast, ordinary and ‘MS’ body buses had outdated fire extinguishers or no such equipment.

Here the question raised by citizens was that how the driver and conduct will handle the situation if any fire breaks out in any bus?

Fire-fighting equipment were found lying in the cabin of some bus drivers. When drivers and conductors were asked about fire extinguishers, they replied that they have to ply whichever bus is allotted. They said that it is the responsibility of depot employees to ensure the fire-fighting equipment's availability along with the first aid kits.

Some conductors said that medical aid is kept with the driver because passengers carry them without permission. The cabin of security guards is between the bus stand and depot. It has seen that nobody is stopped at Depot's entrance and ask the reason for their entry. Anybody can go near the buses.

The survey was done of five buses. These are the buses:

Mumbai to Parli Vaijnath (MH-13—CU-8129)

Dadar to Nashik (MH-09—EM-2232)

Mumbai to Panaji (MH-09—FL-1068)

Chiplun to Mumbai (MH-09—FL-0985)

Devrukh to Mumbai (MH-06—BW-0539)

Wi-Fi service which was installed in the buses for passengers entertainment is out of order. The MSRTC administration appears ignoring hygiene in many buses.

Last year, 11,452 people were killed and 20,137 injured in 25,456 road accidents in the state. Therefore, against the backdrop of these increasing accidents, facilities should be available in vehicles. It should have fire prevention system, first aid kit in ST.