After a video clip of a government bus with only two rear wheels, instead of four, went viral on Sunday, a senior official with the Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation (TNSTC) clarified on Monday that the bus did not have passengers and would not be used again. The video showed that the bus was running between Pollachi and Tiruppur via Palladam.
Speaking to The Hindu, the official clarified that the bus had only a driver and a conductor and was heading towards an idle yard in Mettupalayam. Idle yards, also known as condemnation yards, are places where old buses that are in use for more than seven years or have run more than eight lakh kilometres are disposed of, he said. The driver would not have started the vehicle had there been any passenger, he said.
The wheels and other parts such as the gearbox and engine are taken out of the old vehicles, reconditioned and used as spare parts for new vehicles, according to the official.
