After 10-15 minutes, the crew tied some tree branches by the time traffic had worsened. However sources in NWKRTC said that 45% of the fleet has clocked over 9 lakh kms pushing vehicles well past their optimal lifespan. Hubballi: In a week, 15-20 city buses, including Chigari services, were forced to halt their journeys due to breakdowns. NWKRTC should provide some boards saying ‘Bus is under repair; please take diversion’ to the crew so that they can display at rear end immediately to facilitate other vehicles to decide alternative” he pressed.
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Bus crew said the heavy passenger rush was affecting smooth operations, while punctures and technical glitches were also leaving buses stranded, forcing passengers to disembark. “As the bus was overcrowded right from Dharwad as it arrived at Hosur Cross in Hubballi, crew said they were breaking down the journey at Old Bus Stand, as one of its wheels was allegedly punctured. Many crew said that inordinate surge in passenger loads, especially during festival season, has severely strained structural components like suspensions, axles, and tires.
Commuters were seen struggling to find alternatives, with other buses already overcrowded. Stranded vehicles were found disrupting traffic and triggering jams on several roads during peak hours. Crew members were tying tree branches to the rear of buses to signal breakdowns. At times, they are unable to move the vehicles to the roadside, leaving traffic police struggling to manage congestion. They did not take responsibility for shifting us to another bus as we were all women and had aadhaar cards. They just took the responsibility of male passengers to shift them to another bus. It was a herculean task to reach the railway station as other buses were too crowded” she shared. Dr SV Sullad, a medical practitioner in Akshay Colony, noted that buses will be stopped in the middle of the road many times. “Drivers say buses turn defunct even to take them aside. We know technical glitches are inevitable, but delayed action is unpardonable. NWKRTC officials should understand that roads are not property of their corporation alone” he added. Rahul Shindhe, a banker, shared that recently he was driving his car just behind a city bus on Lamington road. “As it stopped, I also stopped and many vehicles followed me and it caused a traffic jam. As there was no indication or communication from bus crew, vehicles were piled up till Mini Vidhana Soudha. “We hardly get immediate action with cranes as the corporation is left with very few cranes. Even mechanic vehicles take much time as they will be occupied with repair workshops at depots and divisional workshops itself. As we stop buses on heavy traffic roads we face ire from private vehicles commuters” they shared. When contacted, Inayat Bagban, NWKRTC, Hubballi-Dharwad City,Divisional Controller, neither received calls nor responded to the message. Download the TOI App.
Neelambika Patil, a resident of Vidyanagar, recalled that she was travelling in a Dharwad-Hubballi city bus on Saturday afternoon.