New Delhi (Agency): An electric bus in Mumbai operated by the Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) caught fire while being charged early on Friday morning. Thankfully, no one was injured in the incident. The fire was put out within 15 minutes, but it has raised serious safety concerns. This is the second time an electric bus of BEST has caught fire during charging.
The incident happened around 5 am at a charging bay in suburban Malvani. The fire started in the battery set located on the bus’s rooftop. BEST employees moved quickly to remove other buses parked near the affected vehicle to prevent the fire from spreading. They attempted to put out the fire using onboard fire extinguishers, but this did not prove very effective.
“The fire brigade was alerted. Its team immediately reached the spot and doused the blaze by around 5.15 am. The cause of the blaze is being ascertained,” said a spokesperson from BEST.
In light of this incident, BEST General Manager Vijay Singhal spoke to Tata Motors, the company that manufactured the bus. He requested them to inspect all electric buses from the same batch. “It looks like there is some issue related to manufacturing or charging, and only their (Tata Motors) technical staff will be able to tell us the exact cause,” Singhal said.
This is not the first such incident involving BEST buses. Another electric bus caught fire at the Malvani depot on June 16, also during charging. Singhal noted that both incidents occurred while the buses were not operational but were being charged. He urged Tata Motors to examine various aspects like charging time, charger, and other related factors, as both fires happened during the charging process.
Tata Motors has agreed to the request and will deploy a team to investigate the matter. The general manager of BEST said that a review would be conducted within three to four days.
This marks the sixth fire incident involving BEST buses so far this year and the third in less than three months. On July 17, more than 30 passengers had a narrow escape when a BEST bus caught fire in the Andheri area of Mumbai. In February, BEST had even taken 400 wet-leased buses off the roads following three back-to-back incidents of buses catching fire.
BEST provides bus services not only in Mumbai but also in neighboring areas like Thane, Navi Mumbai, and Mira-Bhayandar. It operates a fleet of about 3,500 buses, ferrying over 30 lakh commuters every day. The transport body has hired some electric buses on a wet-lease model, where private operators own the vehicles and are responsible for their maintenance, fuel, and driver salaries.