E-Buses Keep Stalling, Leave Karimnagar Passengers Stranded
Software engineer P. Surya of Godavarikhani said he reached his office late in Hyderabad on Monday after the electric bus he travelled in stalled several times en route.
Karimnagar:Electric buses have been repeatedly breaking down on routes in Karimnagar district, with passengers reporting delays after the vehicles come to a halt unexpectedly during their journeys.
An e-bus from Karimnagar-2 depot stalled at Haridasnagar in Yellareddypet mandal on Monday while it was proceeding to Karimnagar from Kamareddy. Another bus got stuck at the entry gate of the Karimnagar district headquarters bus stand on Tuesday. An e-bus had also stalled at Shankarapatnam bus stand on Sunday, while another broke down at the same place two days earlier.
Software engineer P. Surya of Godavarikhani said he reached his office late in Hyderabad on Monday after the electric bus he travelled in stalled several times en route.
Surya said he boarded the bus in Karimnagar at 1 pm and expected to reach the JBS bus station in about three hours. However, the bus reached at 4.45 pm, making him half an hour late to office. The bus had stopped unexpectedly several times during the journey and resumed after some time, he said. He added that the overall condition of the bus appeared to be good.
Though the exact reasons for the recent breakdowns are yet to be established, technical problems are suspected to be behind the incidents.
The issue comes weeks after a technical team from JBM, the private firm operating the electric buses, visited Karimnagar following battery fires involving two e-buses. One vehicle caught fire at Alugunur on June 21, while another incident was reported at the Karimnagar-2 depot on July 1. TGSRTC officials subsequently suspended e-bus operations as a precautionary measure.
Operations resumed only after the JBM technical team inspected every vehicle on various parameters and issued fitness certificates.
Karimnagar regional manager B. Raju told Deccan Chronicle that the buses had stalled for different reasons and there was no common factor in all the incidents. The JBM technical team was analysing the problems and taking corrective measures, he said.
Raju said unexpected problems could occur when new technology was introduced. Unlike diesel vehicles, where certain problems could be anticipated, electric buses involved newer technology and even the manufacturer could not always predict when technical issues might arise, he said.
