PUNE: The breaking down of new midi buses, recently added to the fleet buses of Pune Mahanagar
Parivahan Mahamandal Limited (PMPML), has become a regular occurrence, thanks to the shortage of spare parts.
PMPML has a total number of 227 midi buses including Tejaswini.
On March 9, the department added 27 new buses in their fleet.
The central store department of PMPML is responsible for maintaining the buses, including the availability of spare parts.
However, PMPML officials have received complaints about the irregularities in the department.
The newly acquired midi buses were not serviced regularly and lacked proper maintenance. As a result, there was an increase in the number of buses breaking down midway.
Also, there is a shortage of spare parts in the store department. Taking cognisance of the issue, authorities discussed the issue with the company responsible for maintaining the buses. They had also asked them to provide the required spare parts as soon as possible.
According to the sources, “The discussion was fruitful and the company was ready to open a unit at Swargate central workshop to provide original spare parts. The process to start a new unit was underway and expected to start by the end of this month.”
BREAKDOWN OF ELECTRIC BUSES
The PMPML had added 25 new electric buses to their fleet on March 9. Few buses had reportedly broken down on the roads some days ago. An official, on the condition of anonymity, said that after initial investigation, it was found that the battery was drained and there was a leakage in the air pipe. The administration contacted the company. A team from the company was dispatched to start the repair work. The company found out that the buses were plying on the road for a long time due to heavy traffic, owing to the ongoing Metro work in the city. The buses run on battery and were plying on the roads for a long time causing battery drainage. As a result, the buses break down midway.
