The bus rides to hell

Tragedies point to an out-of-control industry and regulatory failure

Alok Tiwari

Three bus fires within two weeks in disparate parts of the country should wake us up to perils of private bus transport. The first one occurred on October 24 in Jaisalmer, Rajasthan, and claimed 28 passengers. The fire apparently started from the AC unit of the bus and quickly engulfed the entire vehicle. The second one occurred ten days later in Kurnool, Andhra Pradesh, and claimed 20 lives, 19 of whom were passengers of the bus and a biker. The bike had met with a mishap and was lying on the road when the bus ran over it dragging it some distance. The friction seems to have ignited the fuel tank of bike that in turn caused the bus to light up.

If you thought some lessons may have been learnt, a third bus fire occurred on Oct 28, again in Rajasthan, when goods kept illegally on top of a bus touched a high-tension wire. That ignited the bus resulting in death of two passengers with nine having suffered serious burn injuries.

There are many things disturbingly common in all these accidents. A flagrant disregard for the norms, such as they are, and total regulatory failure. In all the cases, the passengers could not escape evacuate the bus in time. This represents a failure of rulemaking as well as design. There are no norms that require that people should be able to leave the bus within a stipulated time in case of emergency. Naturally, those who build the buses bodies also do not bother.

Buses have glass windows that cannot be opened. That turns the vehicle into a deadly trap. The emergency exit is provided but often it is not functional, certainly not tested frequently. It is also often blocked by mounds of goods or with extra seat, as was the case with Jaisalmer bus. There appears to be no requirement and certainly not a practice to use fire-resistant materials in the buses. Flames spread so fast that passengers had no time to jump out. That is a red flag. The fire extinguishers carried on board, if at all, are laughably puny and I doubt anybody makes sure even those are functional at the start of every trip.

Investigations into the accidents revealed a laundry list of violations. Buses had been illegally and wrongly modified. They were registered as chassis with nobody having inspected them after the bodies were built. When checked after the incident, all 66 buses belonging to Jain Travels, the company operating the Jaisalmer bus, were found to have similar violations. Rajasthan government suspended two transport department officials for this lapse. But, as the second tragedy in the state demonstrated, it had no effect on the corruption and laxity. But why single out that one company and one state? It is same story with all private bus operators and transport departments in every state across the country.

There is no denying that private buses are needed in the country. They fulfil a need, especially as state transport companies in most states are either defunct or are spectacularly bad. Private buses provide an alternative at least between major cities and towns. Usually, there buses are new and not prone to failure. But that is about all the good that can be spoken about them. Once the operators grow big, they become law unto themselves. In every city, large or small, parking of these buses creates problems. Their pickup and drop off points cause traffic chaos for hours on end. Of course, the police and transport departments never do anything beyond taking token actions. Very few cities provide proper termini for operation of private buses. Even when one is provided, the buses continue to take passengers from wayside stops.

Unlike the ramshackle state-run buses, these vehicles look gleaming and modern. Inside they can be a nightmare for passengers, especially the elderly. Despite undertaking trips that can stretch of 12-15 hours, there is no requirement for an onboard toilet. Stoppages are completely at the mercy of drivers and conductors. God help you if you need to go when they are in a hurry. Often, reliance is on a single driver who may or may not have had a good night’s rest. Nobody is checking. To maximise profits, the buses carry a lot of commercial cargo. There is no check if what is being carried is hazardous. The Kurnool bus carried a pack of 26 mobile phones whose batteries aided the spread of fire. Passengers also often carry flammable material as luggage.

Frequent travellers in these buses may well buy sufficient insurance. Because there is no clarity about what the operator is supposed to provide you. These buses are usually licenced to operate as contract carriage, especially in states that still have their own competing bus service. This means every trip on paper is essentially a charter carrying specified persons from one point to another. In reality, they run as stage carriers, meaning they pick up passengers along the way. There is no guarantee that your name will be on the manifest if something were to go wrong. In such case, pray that you die in a big tragedy. That way, the prime minister may tweet about you, and your kin may get a few lakh rupees ex-gratia. If you are victim of a relatively minor mishap, of which there are many, too bad.

To be sure, this is not a problem isolated in private bus industry. The tale of violation of norms, regulatory failure, greed, and corruption is found everywhere. Fire safety norms are flouted in offices, shops, restaurants, and even residential buildings. It is exasperatingly fruitless to even mention it. Before you shrug it off though, try to imagine the last few moments of those who perished. Of all the ways one can die, being trapped in a burning claustrophobic space must be among the most horrible.

This column appeared in Lokmat Times on Oct 30, 2025