The urban division of Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) in Mysore will phase out at least 45 buses that are unfit for operations.
With passenger safety coming into focus after the recent bus tragedy at Belur in Hassan district which claimed eight lives, around 45 buses have been reportedly identified as old and will be scrapped soon.
The scrapped buses will be replaced with new buses to ensure that it does not affect services in the region.
A source in the KSRTC division here told The Hindu that scrapping buses identified as unfit for operations is a regular feature in the corporation.
Every year, buses that are old and have travelled about 7.5 lakh km are identified. “This year, we have identified 45 buses to be phased out and the process has commenced.”
He said the Divisional Mechanical Engineer certifies whether the buses were fit for operations, taking a closer look at their condition, verifying their age and distance travelled.
“The recommendation for phasing out the buses is sent to the central office of KSRTC in Bangalore which takes the final call. If necessary, it sends a technical team to inspect the buses identified for scrapping. Only after certification, the buses are declared scrap,” he said.
Sometimes, buses that have run less than 7.5 lakh km are also phased out if their condition is poor. The number of km travelled is not always taken into consideration since the first priority is to assess its fitness for operations.
“If necessary, old buses are reconditioned if they can run for another 50,000 km to 1 lakh km. If the cost of reconditioning an old bus is more, it is recommended for scrap,” he said.
Mysore rural division
The Mysore rural KSRTC division is the second largest division of KSRTC in the State after the Bangalore division. It has 660 buses, including air-conditioned Volvo, Rajahamsa, Vaibhav, and the recently-introduced sleeper coaches.
It has been introducing new services for commuters to compete with private bus operators, especially in places where they have prominent presence.
Sleeper services to cities such as Belgaum and other cities in the State have got good response from passengers. The division runs services to Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, and Maharashtra.
The division operates about 486 trips daily between Mysore and Bangalore, which is perhaps the highest between two major cities in the State.
