Kurla accident: BEST driver was not trained to drive high-powered e-bus

MUMBAI: Sanjay More, 54, the Brihanmumbai Electricity Supply and Transport (BEST) driver who has been booked for culpable homicide not amounting to murder by police for ramming into 22 vehicles that resulted in the death of seven and injury to 42, at 9:30 pm on Monday, on a busy Kurla street, had transitioned from driving a manual bus to an electric bus (e-bus) after just a three-day training.

More started driving the 12-mt long Olectra-make e-bus – the longest in the BEST fleet – from December 1. Before this, he had driven a 6-mt long bus for four years.

Putting More behind the wheel of an e-bus within a limited time since driving a manual bus was in defiance of the transport utility’s internal SOP, a BEST source told HT. Bus drivers need to go through six weeks of refresher training before they are allowed to scale up. “However, this is just on paper. While new drivers get trained for 15 days before being given large and small BEST buses to drive, refresher courses go on for three days only, which More undertook,” said a BEST official.

This was corroborated by Kurla police, investigating the case, as well, whose primary investigation revealed that More “had only driven manual, geared diesel vehicles till December 1”.

Additionally, More was for the first time manoeuvring an advanced vehicle which was running on a power of 3000 NM (Newton Meters), as opposed to a diesel bus’ 390 to 450 NM. HT has learnt from sources that this make of Olectra C9 bus has two motors on either side which gives the vehicle an extra thrust and power. It is akin to upgrading from a basic hatchback to a luxury car with better and faster engines, among other improved features.

Anil Diggikar, general manager of BEST Undertaking, said, “We have appointed a committee that will determine the reasons behind the accident – it will delve into technical, engineering and operational workings of all the buses. The committee will also investigate the behaviour of drivers to ascertain if they follow safety protocols. We will look at the shortcomings in the driver training module provided by the wet lease operators among other things.”

Another BEST official said the wet lease operators are known to “slice off the training period from their job sheet to cut cost, uncaring of the sheer compromise to passengers’ safety”. The official ruled out suspicion of More being drunk while he was on the job. “On realising that he had hit pedestrians he most likely froze in shock and lost control of the bus,” he said.

While a senior RTO officer negated any shortcoming with the vehicle, particularly the brake, as was suspected earlier, an officer from Kurla police station investigating the case said, “The BEST contractual employee perhaps pressed the accelerator instead of brakes after hitting the speed breaker and went on hitting around 22 vehicles, including two-wheelers, four-wheelers, a police vehicle and pedestrians along the road”.

“Soon after the bus started from Kurla station, the driver lost control of the vehicle while overtaking an auto near the Kurla BEST depot. After receiving a huge jerk by jumping a speed breaker, he kept speeding and proceeded towards Buddha Vihar on SG Barve Marg, running into people, auto-rickshaws, two-wheelers, cars and pedestrians along the way,” said a police officer. He eventually rammed into a cemented gate leading to Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Nagar, before coming to a stop.

Chaos ensued even as the driver went on a rampage for around 200 meters on the road, leaving a trail of deaths and injured people, said a police officer. A large crowd gathered and assaulted the driver and conductor Siddharth More; a police patrol team arrived on the spot and took the duo to the police station.

While Sanjay More blamed the incident on a technical fault of the vehicle, “we have taken his blood samples and are awaiting the reports to find out if he was under any kind of influence”, said the officer.

“We are verifying his claims. A team from the RTO has scanned the brakes and other areas of the bus. We are waiting for their report as well,” said the officer. “Prima facie, it is clear he was speeding in a crowded street negligently with the knowledge that it can cause deaths.”

Investigating officers will also scan CCTV footage of the bus and are looking out for passengers in the bus who can narrate the course of the incident.

Meanwhile, a shaken-up Deep, More’s son, said, “My father does not drink, and has been driving four-wheelers and other vehicles since 1989. He was working on electric buses only for past eight days and had complained that driving the long bus in small and crowded areas was troublesome.”