BRT bus fire caused by batteries

A fire which erupted on the roof of a bus plying in the dedicated Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) corridor earlier in the week was caused by the charging batteries of the hybrid vehicles.

In a statement on Friday, a spokesperson for TransPeshawar - the company which runs and manages the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system in Peshawar, maintained that they are providing the best possible and safe travelling facilities to residents of the provincial capital.

Noting that safety of BRT buses was their top priority, the official asserted that no compromise will be made on the safety of passengers.

About the incident, he said that the bus which caught fire was under warranty, adding that initial assessments pointed to batteries of the bus as the culprits.

He added soon after the fire erupted, all passengers were immediately offloaded and taken out of the station. Hence, no loss of human life or injuries were reported in the incident while the fire brigade and teams of the Rapid Response team doused the fire within 20 minutes. The bus service resumed after a brief pause.

However, to thoroughly probe the incident and to ensure that such a situation does not arise again, he said that a committee has been formed to thoroughly probe the incident. Moreover, he said the company which had provided the buses has also been informed to conduct an early inspection of the vehicle.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 29^th, 2020.