Driverless BEST bus rolls backwards, crashes into booth at Bhandup

According to sources, people at Bhandup West station were startled to witness an unmanned electric bus rolling backward, teetering out of control and crashing into a roadside booth

MUMBAI: In yet another incident involving a BEST bus, a driverless bus on Route No 606 crashed into a booth outside Bhandup railway station on Sunday. This was the same bus route and bus model—the nine-metre-long one manufactured by Olectra Greentech—that had met with a serious accident outside Bhandup railway station last December.

Driverless BEST bus rolls backwards, crashes into booth at Bhandup

According to sources, people at Bhandup West station were startled to witness an unmanned electric bus rolling backward, teetering out of control and crashing into a roadside booth. The vehicle, operating out of Vikhroli Depot, had just completed its run on Route 606 from Nardas Nagar. While the spokesperson of BEST did not provide information about the incident, sources said that the driver, Sharad Suryavanshi, parked the vehicle at the terminal stop to report to the office for a scheduled break.

Moments after he exited the vehicle, the bus began to drift backward. “The heavy vehicle gained momentum before slamming into a booth located there. Fortunately, no injuries were reported,” said a BEST official. The exact cause of the mishap is not known but BEST authorities are looking into the possibility of mechanical failure or an issue with the brakes.

Officials believe that it could also be human error. “It’s shocking that a parked vehicle drifted in reverse,” said Nitin Nandgaongar, member, BEST Committee. “Didn’t the driver apply the handbrake? Or, if he did, was there a technical failure in the bus? The administration has made it clear that no bus will leave the bus depot without inspection—yet, this incident has occurred, which points to serious safety lapses.”