Faulty bus batch puts passenger lives at risk
A batch of 121 natural gas-powered buses recently purchased by transport authorities are putting passengers’ lives at risk and costing the government heavily in lost productivity, it was revealed yesterday. Four buses from ETHEL, the Athens public bus company, have caught on fire between 2005-2006 due to the vehicle’s catalytic converters lacking the necessary insulation. Authorities reacted by testing all buses and were forced to pull another two off the road due to the problem. Defects then appeared with the gas tank lid on board each vehicle roof, which was at risk of flying off the bus while it was traveling. Authorities withdrew all buses for three months to fix the problem. Damages are covered by a guarantee but more than 180,000 bus trips are estimated to have been canceled due to the problems.
