Police van collides with BEST buses in Vashi; series of mishaps raises concerns

The buses that got damaged after colliding with a police van in Vashi

Two BEST buses were damaged in a collision with a police van while en route to the assembly session on Friday morning, the latest accident in a series of mishaps involving such buses.

The head-on collision resulted in minor injuries to the driver of the police van and the two bus drivers. The full extent of the damages is yet to be assessed. The accident occurred around 7.15 am at Arenja Chowk in Vashi.

Referred to as a "chain collision" by BEST officials, the incident involved a bus on route 517 travelling from Santacruz station to APMC market in Sanpada. As the bus reached the ICL signal at Arenja Circle at 7.15 am, a police van (MH-43-AQ-6786) from Ghansoli collided into the left side of the bus.

Subsequently, the police van hit a private car and then collided head-on into another BEST bus on route number 512 travelling from Nerul to Mulund. Both buses were damaged, and the police van driver sustained injuries, requiring hospital treatment. The case is under investigation with the help of CCTV footage.

Notably, three days ago, a bus caught fire in Marol, and earlier this week, another incident occurred at Golibar Road.

Although the number of BEST bus accidents had been on a decline between 2017 and 2018, there has been an increase in such accidents during this financial year, with approximately 30 incidents occurring in the first three months alone. In 2022, 10 fatal mishaps involving BEST buses were reported.

While the BEST spokesperson did not respond to queries from mid-day regarding these occurrences, officials have asserted that the majority of the accidents and mishaps can be attributed to the staff of wet-leased buses. To address this issue, counselling sessions are being conducted regularly.

10
No of fatal mishaps involving BEST in '22

30
No of mishaps involving BEST in 2023