More than seven years after inducting its first electric bus, the civic-run Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) undertaking has started training drivers at the Dindoshi centre in north Mumbai to familiarize them with the technological changes in these vehicles, an official said on Sunday.
The move was triggered by the tragic accident of a 12-metre electric bus on the congested SG Barve Marg in Kurla West on December 9, in which nine people died, several others were injured, and more than 20 vehicles were damaged.
E-Bus Driver Training In Mumbai |
The driver involved in the accident had been deployed on the bus since December 1 after just three days of training, which some experts claimed may have contributed to the crash. They cited “human error” as a possible cause.
Following the incident, a panel of experts appointed by BEST recommended that private bus operators deploy a few e-buses to facilitate proper driver training.
The first electric bus was inducted into the BEST fleet in November 2017. Unlike conventional manual transmission buses, most e-buses have automatic transmission and lack a clutch, the official explained.
“The Dindoshi facility previously trained drivers for diesel buses. Now, an old 12-metre e-bus from Olectra has been repurposed for training. It has been modified into a dual-control bus with a secondary brake system on the left side for effective control and has been approved by the RTO for exclusive driver training,” the official said.
The training bus has been provided by EveyTrans Private Limited, which has secured two contracts to supply 2,100 and 2,400 buses, respectively, to BEST. The training of drivers employed on a wet lease from private operators has now commenced.
The induction of new e-buses, which had been pending for the past three months, is now expected to begin. Due to this delay, 90 new buses were parked at Vikhroli and Ghatkopar depots. Of these, 60 have been registered, while the process for the remaining is ongoing.
This is expected to provide relief to commuters, as the deployment of new e-buses will improve efficiency and increase the number of services, the official added.
“The number of training buses at Dindoshi has now increased to six after the deployment of the e-bus. Earlier, the figure was 11, but it dropped to five as older buses were scrapped upon completing their operational life,” the official said.
BEST, one of the country’s foremost public transport providers, carries around 30 lakh passengers daily. Due to financial constraints, it has been outsourcing services to private operators who also provide drivers.
At present, of the 2,800 buses in its fleet, approximately 1,950 are on wet lease from private operators. Of these, around 700 are e-buses, with another 4,500 set to be added in the future, officials said.
