Wheel of moving bus comes loose, close shave for passengers

Passengers of a BMTC bus, motorists and pedestrians had a narrow escape as the front wheel of the moving bus suddenly got detached and rolled on to the main road in Peenya last Saturday.

The incident occurred at TVS Cross, Peenya near BMTC bus depot 9 at 9.16 am. Though it was peak hour, there were neither pedestrians nor vehicles at the spot at that moment.

CCTV footage from cameras of a factory and a weigh bridge facility showed the bus coming to a screeching halt after the tyre got detached and rolled into the factory’s premises. There were around 25 passengers on board. No injuries were reported either to passengers or anyone on the road.

The bus, route number 252, belonging to depot 9 in Peenya was heading from Peenya to Kempegowda bus station.

The white and blue Parisara Vahini bus introduced between 2002 and 2008, has been running for more than nine years now, a senior BMTC official told DH.

Chief mechanical engineer Ganganna Gowda B C inspected the bus at the depot and found that the bearing box of the right front wheel had worn out and gave way. “It happens very rarely, but even then, we suspect there is human error and negligence in regular maintenance work. It is a serious issue as it could have been disastrous had the road been crowded,” said Gowda.

The passengers were ferried in another bus and the broken down bus was towed to the depot where it was inspected.

“We have a regimental system of maintenance and this is a freak incident. However, we are looking into the human error of overlooking regular maintenance protocols and will initiate action against the errant maintenance staff,” said V Ponnuraj, managing director, BMTC.