BEST bus accidents spiral, fatalities mount

The latest fatal accident occurred on the evening of June 21, when an 84-year-old woman was crushed under the wheels of a BEST bus near Gaiwadi in Girgaon. According to the VP Road police, the bus, which was headed for Sion, was standing at the bus stop

Mumbai: In a worrying statistic, the city, in a mere three months (April 1 to June 21), has seen seven road accident deaths involving BEST buses. The figure for the same time period last year was eight. In just over six years, more than 89 people have lost their lives in 561-odd BEST bus accidents, which has raised concerns about the safety of passengers and pedestrians.

Since June 18, there have been at least five BEST bus accidents across the city. (HT PHOTO)

The latest fatal accident occurred on the evening of June 21, when an 84-year-old woman was crushed under the wheels of a BEST bus near Gaiwadi in Girgaon. According to the VP Road police, the bus, which was headed for Sion, was standing at the bus stop. “The senior citizen, Aruna Sadashiv Jadye, thought she would be able to cross the road before the bus started,” said a police officer. “But it started before she could cross and ran over her.”

A BEST spokesperson said that the bus was running on a wet lease. “Since it was a low-floor model, the senior citizen got trapped under it,” he said. “Taxi drivers in the vicinity jumped into action and used jacks to lift the bus and pull her out. The lady, who had sustained injuries to her ribs and chest, was rushed to Bhatia Hospital in Tardeo but was declared dead.”

The driver of the bus, Sandeep Ganpat Parab (47), was booked for causing death by negligence and for rash and negligent driving. “He was arrested and granted bail,” said a police officer. BEST authorities said a thorough investigation to determine the exact cause of the accident was under way.

Since June 18, there have been at least five BEST bus accidents across the city.

As per the data provided by BEST officials, apart from the fatality statistics, there have been 204 serious accidents—which include 76 serious collisions—123 minor accidents and 69 minor collisions. Four hundred and forty-eight people have been injured in these accidents.

“It is distressing to see so many accidents occurring,” said Ravi Raja, former BEST Committee member. “The BEST administration should certainly take a deep look at the overall operations of the BEST’s transport wing. Especially with wet-lease buses running, there is a need to further tighten the checks on their drivers.”

The number of serious BEST bus accidents since 2017-18 had seen a dropping trend but in this financial year, in the first three months, there have been 27 serious accidents. As far as the wet-lease buses go, there have been 30 fatalities since July 5, 2020 until June 19 this year. There have been 11 serious and eight minor accidents involving wet-lease buses during this period.

“There is a need to impart proper training to the wet-lease bus operators. Something seems amiss, as the number of crashes are rising,” said A V Shenoy, member, Mumbai Mobility Forum.

BEST officials attributed the rise in accidents to several factors, ranging from a lack of pedestrian space and the ‘encroachment’ of roads by ongoing construction projects to reduced road widths that leave minimal room for manoeuvering buses. “The total number of vehicles on the road has gone up considerably, especially after working from home more or less stopped,” said a BEST official. “Even we carry over 35 lakh daily passengers.” Experts said that rash driving and overspeeding, particularly by wet-lease bus drivers, also contributed to accidents.