A SMOOTH RIDE
Recent media reports about the heating up of a Ashok Leyland CNG bus on a trial run in the capital led to much confusion. The bus was introduced in state transport minister Parvez Hashmi's constituency on June 26. "For a few days, it was very hot in the driver's cabin. The other driver even broke out with boils on his legs,' says Mahendra Singh, a DTC driver for 19 years, who has been driving the CNG bus since its introduction.
This problem prompted Hashmi to remark that the Delhi government would stop acquiring any more CNG buses till the problem was sorted out. What everyone failed to realise then was that it was a mere ventilation problem. "It was because there were slits near the accelerator pedal, which threw up hot air. Also, a perforated mesh near the driver's feet, present in every DTC bus, was missing,' says Singh. According to him, the main reason for the driver's cabin heating up is the design of the door. Agrees Ashok Leyland's technical advisor R Ramakrishnan: "Most DTC buses have sliding doors which are kept open by drivers for sufficient ventilation. For safety reasons, this bus has doors which open out hence it cannot be kept open while driving. So the driver feels hot. To get rid of this problem, we have put shutters on the door for more ventilation and provided insulating material in the driver's cabin to keep out the heat.'
Denying complaints of the bus being slow, Satnarayan, the bus conductor says: "It is not true that this bus is slow. Although its pick-up is not as good, it maintains a good speed.' Commuter N M Khan says, "In the afternoon, the bus is as hot as any DTC bus. But unlike other DTC buses, it gives a smooth ride.'