Bhandup bus accident: BEST bus was mechanically sound, human error suspected, says official

A human error may have led to the horrific accident involving a bus of Mumbais civicrun transport undertaking BEST as the more than 6yearold vehicle appeared to be mechanically sound officials have said reported news agency PTIThe Olectra Greentechmade ninemetrelong electric bus from the fleet of Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport BEST undertaking crashed into pedestrians near Bhandup West suburban railway station on Monday night killing four people and injuring 10 othersThe BESTs General Manager has already directed the Assistant General Manager Operations and Engineering to probe the Bhandup bus accident and submit a report at the earliest The Wadala Regional Transport Office RTO inspected the bus involved in the tragedyThe bus appears to be mechanically sound A human error might have caused the accident a senior official of the transport undertaking said on Tuesday while speaking on condition of anonymity reported PTIAt the time of the Bhandup bus accident the bus was being driven by Santosh Ramesh Sawant 52 who has been with BEST for the past 15 years he informed reported PTIBus driver arrestedAccording to a release issued by the BEST administration police have arrested Sawant and registered a case against him for negligent drivingSources in BEST told PTI that a few minutes before the crash Sawant had driven the bus on Route 606 to Bhandup West station with an average speed of just 7 kmph The bus was then parked near the station in a crowded area for about five minutesAfter taking a brief bio break the driver returned to the steering wheel and this is when the accident occurred the sources told PTI adding the exact cause of the crash was still under investigationThe airconditioned electric bus was part of a fleet of 25 midi buses that the BEST administration had transferred to the Vikhroli depot from Dharavi in the island city a few months ago This was done after the sevenmetrelong mini buses which had been plying on congested and narrow roads of Bhandup were scrapped after completing their codal life estimated lifespanA Wadala RTO official said the bus currently parked outside the Bhandup police chowki was inspected and nothing adverse or faulty related to its mechanical condition was found reported PTIThe brakes were functioning properly and there was no issue with the starting system as well the official said explained reported PTIThe official said they have also sought BEST and Olectras inspection reports on the buss condition besides details of driving licence of the driver from policeAnother RTO official who inspected both the accident spot and the bus told PTI that as per preliminary investigation the vehicle was taking a right turn from its starting pointThe driver may have panicked while taking the turn and in that situation he could have pressed the accelerator hard the RTO official stated citing his observations after the inspection reported PTIAfter the driver lost control over the bus it hit a pole and road median he explained reported PTIRTO officials ruled out the possibility of brake failure noting that electric buses do not move if air pressure is low in the braking system reported PTIAccording to the officials the Olectramade midi bus is six years and four months old having been registered at the Tardeo RTO in August 2021Bus underwent fitness test in August 2025A BEST official said the bus underwent fitness test in August 2025 and the renewal certificate was valid until August 2027 The bus also has valid insurance reported PTIAs per Olectra officials the bus was offroad between December 6 and December 24 during which its battery packs were replaced and there was no mechanical defect in the vehicle reported PTIThis was the second such accident in Mumbai involving a wet leased bus of OlectraOn the night of December 9 2024 an electric bus hired by BEST on a wet lease basis from the private company ploughed into a crowd killing nine persons and injuring 40 others in the Kurla West areaThe civicrun undertaking provides transport services in Mumbai and adjoining areas It ferries around 30 lakh passengers daily with a fleet of more than 2700 busesWith inputs from PTI